Wendy Bruce 1992 Olympic Trials Balance Beam

[Oberon80113]

Kim Kelly was horrible and overweight. The international judges would have eaten her alive. If Kim hadn't eaten them first.

[metsdudenj]

Hmm. This was a tough trials and the selection was unfair in the sense that it jerked the athletes around and there were many injured former world championship team members. Kim Kelly did score well at Trials, but I have to be honest, she was held up by the US judges, because internationally she normally did not score anything over a 9.75. She was also coached poorly, her lines could have been improved and her power better utilized for higher scores. That said,, Okino and Campi deserved spots

[Felipemajo]

Wendy earned her place on the team. Betty Okino did not.

[metsdudenj]

Betty Okino was a proven international medallist, and totally deserved to be on the team. She completely deserved to be petitioned on the team.

[adventuregirl76]

Wendy did not earn her spot. Kim beat her at Nationals and Trials. Moreover, Wendy fell off beam at Trials.

[Felipemajo]

I agree Kim should have been on the team and not BO. But Wendy earned her place on the team, because she competed on trials. The decision of cutting Kim was not her.

[auswriteratheart]

I agree as well. Wendy Bruce deserved a spot on the team just as Kim Kelly did, as evidenced by their fifth (Kelly) and sixth (Bruce) place finished at Trials. It is Betty Okino who should not have been competing in Barcelona.

[adventuregirl76]

Kim Kelly made the team fair and square, only to have her spot stolen from her. That was not Wendy's fault, but it should never have happened. Kim was a solid competitor who did everything she was supposed to do to make the team. Wendy Bruce did not. End of story.

[lashenova]

She made the training squad. Not the team. She knew it was a training squad, not a team that she "earned" a spot on. Michelle Campi and Betty Okino were also on the training squad, and they were better than she was. Her coaches knew this, but to this day Kim Kelly still hasn't let go of this. It is really pathetic. Think about Vanessa Atler, she was 6th in 2000 at the trials, we don't debate about her...but we do about an inconsistant gymnast who scored and performed very poorly internationally.

[espinaca79]

Wendy Bruce made the team because of her vault. That's it. Bruce proved she was able to score higher than Kim and delivered. That's why she was chosen.

[adventuregirl76]

I have a great bridge to sell you. If you don't believe this entire process was completely and totally political in every regard, you are the most naive person on the planet. Please do some research.

[espinaca79]

I actually lived intensivly that era. I don't need to do any more research. I still own IG August 1992 with all the description. Biased selection? That is nothing new in american gymnastics. Still, the Karolyi's and the rest of the coaches believed Bruce could score higher in Barcelona. Wendy flashed a 9.95 durin TO in Spain, something Kim Kelly would never would had been able to do.

[adventuregirl76]

Anyone connected with the process will tell you flat-out that the process was 100 percent political. Kim Kelly followed the proper procedures to earn her spot, and that's that. You may not like her, but she EARNED her spot. To say someone is on the team and then pull them off and replace them (unless there has been an injury) is criminal. And that's a fact.

[espinaca79]

Well, because of this confusion, the Karolyi's established the monthly training camps and made it clear that the camp that followed the trials would determine the final squad. In the old days two competitions proved that the selection proceedure needed more work from the gymnasts. I don't even know why are you argueing all this. It is a fact. Kelly was a good gymnast but couldn't score higher, that's it.

[espinaca79]

I'm wondering: ARE YOU her?, Are you Kim?I mean, I'm sad for her, but unfortunately the trials are not intended to select the gymnasts who can perform only there or even get lucky. Trials and the selection camp exist to determine the best team possible, the one who can compete agaisnt the best in the world.

[adventuregirl76]

Whatever. The fact is that Kim beat Wendy at both Nationals and Trials and was sixth overall after both. If you want to handpick the team, then handpick the team, but don't pull athletes off the team just because you don't like their style or their body type. That's political. Kim was named to the team at the Trials and only removed after the "closed-door" trials, where coaches got one vote each (except Karolyi.) She earned her spot fair and square.

[auswriteratheart]

I think both of you need to get your facts straight. adventuregirl, you're selling Kim short. She finished fifth at Trials, not sixth. WB finished sixth and deserved her spot as well; Kim was replaced by an injured Betty Okino. espinaca, selection camp was't a part of the process back then. Kim had no reason to believe that she would be pulled from the team, because the arbitrary "second trial" was in fact completely political. The USGF didn't like Kim's body type, it's as simple as that.

[adventuregirl76]

Honestly, she shouldn't have been on the Olympic team. Whatever you think about Kim Kelly, she played the game and EARNED her spot. Wendy won hers in a ridiculous game of politics.

[jmseles]

I disagree - even with this fall on beam, she still placed 6th because of how well she did on the other apparatuses. She earned her spot on the team. I'm sorry for Kim that she didnt go, but that is no reason to blame Wendy.

[lashenova]

Wendy was a superior gymnast in form, style and skill.

[adventuregirl76]

I simply happen to believe that the process that put her on the team was political. I believe that Kim Kelly rightfully earned her place. Whatever you think of Kim, she went through the process, did what she was supposed to do, and had her spot ripped away from her. If Barta and Co. wanted to hand-pick the team, they should have done that rather than going through a pointless process in which people would be told they made the team, then told they were off the team.

[espinaca79]

The Karolyi's like consistent and powerful who can deliver high scores. They knew that Romania was their rival and that the scores were going to be very close. From their perspective, they needed any extra tenth to keep on 2nd place. Don't get me wrong, Kelly was a nice gymnast but there was no way she could had scored higher..I mean look at her form and difficulty compared to Wendy's.