Sunday, February 27, 2000
White second in Olympic tune-up
Local gymnast boosts confidence
The Associated Press
ORLANDO, Fla. — Six months from now, when Morgan White of Fairfield walks into the stadium at the Sydney Olympics and the butterflies start fluttering in her stomach, she can think back to the American Cup and breathe a deep sigh of relief.
The 16-year-old, one of five Olympic hopefuls training at the Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy, finished second in the international Olympic tune-up Saturday. She was less than eight-tenths of a point behind Yelena Produnova of Russia.
“Every meet I can hit my routines and go four-for-four, that helps boost my confidence and overcome my nerves,” said White, who won the all-around in the Pan-American Games last summer.
Added her coach, Mary Lee Tracy, “This makes her see herself as a real potential Olympian. It makes her know she can compete with the best of the world. She knows, "I stood next to and was within eight-tenths of Produnova.'”
It's a prestigious event, and White was well aware of its history when she stepped onto the floor. She took slight steps on the landings of both her vaults and was sixth after the first rotation.
She recovered nicely with a solid routine on the uneven bars, earning a 9.537. That left only the floor exercises, and White tumbled, twisted and flipped around the floor with power and grace. When she finished, a huge grin spread across her face and she ran into Tracy's arms.
She earned a 9.650, moving her ahead of Spain's Laura Martinez into second place with 37.730 points. When the score flashed, the crowd screamed.
“It was an amazing feeling, it was so great,” White said. “When I did that last tumbling pass, I knew I'd done great.”
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