It was 28 years ago this week (July 23, 1996) when an 18-year-old gymnast from Tucson, AZ, gave the American viewing public something to cheer about. Kerri Strug had severely injured her left ankle (later determined to be a grade three sprain) on her first vault attempt with what the American’s team gold medal hopes on the line (or so the viewing public thought). She gutted out her second attempt and stuck the landing (on one leg). The U.S. women edged Russia, 389.225-388.404, to claim the gold. (In reality, had she not completed her second vault, the U.S. still would have wound up with gold, but why let some math ruin a terrific story?)
ankle injury suffered on her first attempt. The United States’ gold medal hopes
rested on her, and she fought the pain on her second attempt to secure
the title for the U.S. (Photo by Al Tielemans)
Here’s the story from Sports Illustrated‘s Johnette Howard and an overview of the entire 1996 Summer Olympics courtesy of Wikipedia.
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