Tracee Talavera - 1981 Worlds EF - Balance Beam

[akimbohr]

I still remember how the Moscow crowd booed the judges....9.70 was just not fair but enough to tie for the bronze...

[twilliger123]

Tracee was actually throwing a double twist dismount but then she broke her ankle and had to water down this routine, she did the same with her floor routine on her second pass as well. She was still terrific!

[metsdudenj]

@twilliger123 Hmm, thats not the way I heard it. She had a layout mount which she hadnt been hitting consistently. Don Peters told her to throw it, and she said no way, and decided to do an easier mount. I didnt hear anything about a broken ankle. The mount is a different mount than we normally saw.

[twilliger123]

@metsdudenj I'm not talking about her mount, which is the same mount she used for Nats and the trials, she didn't start using the handspring layout mount until the 1982 season. I'm talking about her dismount. She broke her ankle the end of 1980 when she landed short on a double back, it had healed for nats and trials and she reinjured it again before worlds so she landed a single instead of a double twist dismount. This is what she told me, not what I heard. There is also a vid on here

[twilliger123]

@metsdudenj where she talks about breaking her ankle.

[MTVMANN]

I heard that someone wanted her to do a harder dismount and she said no. Smart move.

[cathode1990]

you have a great collection of classic gymnasts ---- Wow !!! Very impressive !!! Great to relive the golden days!! Thanks

[metsdudenj]

I am so proud that Tracee came back in 84 as an even better gymnast. She was so on in LA, and unfortunately, a fall on beam cost her there, but she performed brilliantly for the most part!

[ferency98]

Great job, Tracee! I truly believe that had the U.S. team competed in the Moscow 1980 Olympics, they would have won several medals. So heartbreaking how they so looked forward to be there- but I give Julianne, Tracee, and Kathy so much credit for sticking around an extra 4 years to achieve their dream.

[kimxh]

Couldn't agree more. Even though the USA wasn't a gymnastics superpower back then, I think that we had some very strong competitors and beautiful performers during that quad.