By Dave Reardon
Friday, July 26, 1996Mike Fitzgerald is on vacation.
His column returns July 31.
Mike Fitzgerald is on vacation.
His column returns July 31.
Strug, coming to a cereal box near you soon, is the woman who sealed the U.S. team victory Tuesday night by completing her last vault on a lame ankle injured on her previous jump.
Although unlikely, it was conceivable that the Russians could have passed the Americans for the gold if Strug had scratched her final attempt.
Would - or could - any competitive athlete or coach have made a different decision?
Fighting through pain and coming through for your team is one of the things competitive sports is all about. It's what separates championship athletes from the rest.
What difference, really, was there between what Strug did, and what, say, Kirk Gibson - who was held together by trainer's tape and powered by adrenaline - did in the 1988 World Series, when he homered to win Game 1?
The same argument could have been made that Gibson's contribution wasn't really needed, and he was merely risking additional injury.
The difference is that Strug is perceived as a little girl playing, while Gibson was seen as a big man doing his job.
"It is the gender thing," said Kathy James, the mother of a local gymnast. "Society always feels like it should protect the women. Another thing: Kerri is an athlete. She's struggled with so many injuries, it's made her strong. The other night she was like a David having already beaten so many Goliaths. To her, it was no big deal to do what she did."
WHAT Kerri Strug did was merely what Olympians do.
Because most high-profile gymnasts are teen-age girls, there has been much talk about how gymnastics can be harmful to a young woman's long-term health. Some doctors and writers are even calling it child abuse.
I've got news for these people. Any sport can be dangerous to kids - boys and girls. Children are crippled physically and emotionally all the time on playgrounds and in gyms. But like anything else, good parenting, good coaching and a little good luck will keep the vast majority of children safe.
These doctors should read the surgeon general's recent report on how sedentary our society is, and be thankful that athletes like Kerri Strug inspire kids to be active and healthy.
Carrie Wong, 12, James' daughter, is a "level 10" gymnast - not Olympic caliber but an accomplished athlete nonetheless.
"I do it because it's fun," Wong said. "It's hard sometimes, but I stay with it because it's a gift to be able to do the neat tricks."
James said Kokokahi Gymnastics Club - where she works and where Wong works out - has enrolled about 25 new kids since Monday. "We've got even more just coming in to take a look," she said.
IF the medical regulators really want something to howl about, how about boxing?
Unfortunately, NBC's coverage has been so sparse that U.S. coach Pat Burns literally begged for some exposure after heavyweight Nate Jones' victory yesterday.
The Olympics are about people of all ages, genders, and backgrounds performing what is seemingly beyond human capability. Sometimes this entails risk.
If the Games were about what is safe and mundane, checkers would be an Olympic sport, and we'd have continuous coverage of ping-pong, er, sorry, table tennis.
I take that back. Those plastic balls fly pretty fast. I certainly hope there aren't any vulnerable, helpless little girls competing.
Someone might consider that child abuse.