Shannon Miller: My Child, My Hero by Claudia Miller

[QuietColours]

Chapter Eight, Part 2

• Event Finals
  • They were among the first to arrive
  • Peggy found them and told them Shannon would be 2nd on vault, 4th on bars, 2nd on beam, and 1st on floor. She was disappointed Shannon was so early in the lineups, afraid it would affect her placements. Parents were also frustrated–Shannon had come so far and worked so hard, it didn't seem fair. But they decided they should just be grateful she was competing in all EF
  • Shannon had been struggling on vault since her injury, so it was surprising she was in vault finals. She'd been working on a 'front somersault with a half twist' just before the injury, but she hadn't worked just the handspring front tuck for four months. She did her FTY first, then flashed the number for the handspring front tuck. This didn't surprise Claudia, but her landing it would. She ended up having a bit too much power and took a big step forward. They were happy at her 6th place finish
  • Had higher hopes for UB. Shannon had four releases and a difficult dismount. Lu Li had a fabulous routine and outscored her; Gutsu also outscored her but Claudia questioned her score as a judge. But they were ecstatic with Shannon's bronze
  • On beam, Peggy took over as Shannon's coach. Lu Li, the first competitor, had a great routine. Shannon did as well, with a little more difficulty, but also a balance check and a wiggle on the landing. She tied Lu Li. They were surprised that their score held up through the next five gymnasts and that they would get a medal. Lysenko had a spectacular routine for gold, and Lu Li and Shannon tied for silver.
  • Shannon was first on floor. She had a beautiful routine and was obviously relieved and elated. She had competed (and hit) 16 routines this Olympics. As the other athletes competed, Shannon's score held in medal contention. She held on to bronze, despite being the first competitor.
  • Shannon had set another record: Most medals won by an American in a nonboycotted Olympics
  • Reporters asked if she'd trade her five medals for a single gold. Her answer was an emphatic, "No." The Daily Oklahoma called her "Miss Consistency" and pointed out that she was the top competitor across the Olympics. She had a high score of a 9.975, a low of 9.837, and an average of 9.916
  • Claudia went to the railing hoping to see Shannon. This time Steve and Peggy brought Shannon over and lifted her up so they could give her a hug, and they arranged to come to the Olympic Village and take her sightseeing the next day. She hadn't seen any of Barcelona
  • Shannon's medals were achieved with no hometown advantage or political clout
  • Had never dreamed Shannon's Olympics would be this successful. They were proud of how she was conducting herself–focused, gracious, and happy.
• The Day After
  • Arrived at the Village early the next day. Couldn't get anyone to tell Shannon they were there, no way to reach her. Her family was leaving for home the next morning
  • After two hours, she remembered the gentlemen who sat behind them during the AA had said he worked in the village and had given them her number. She dug it out and communicated she wanted to talk to him. After a while he came, got Steve, Peggy, and Shannon, and got them visitors' passes
  • Saw Shannon's room, which she shared with Dawes. It was so small they had to walk over their luggage to get to their beds. No AC, but a large window that opened toward the sea
  • Went the the athlete's gift shop and got some things for the kids
  • Shannon was regularly stopped by people wanting autographs
  • Shannon and Tessa did some pin trading
  • Went to La Rambla for shopping. They were surprised with how many people recognized Shannon. The kids begged for McDonalds
  • Shannon told them that the basketball Dream Team had visited the village. The gymnasts had met the players, toured their bus, and trader gymnastics paraphenalia for basketball souvenirs. Shannon had been napping and missed this–she learned about it when everyone else got back with their souvenirs. She was crushed. Steve went into action, spoke to John Tesh, and he got tickets for the game against Spain and an invitation for Shannon, Steve, and Peggy to go to the locker room afterwards. Peggy filmed the meeting, despite no cameras being allowed in the locker room. Shannon got to meet most of the players, including her favorites: Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Charles Barkley. Magic hugged her and told her he'd seen in the AA competition and loved it
  • The next morning, she was able to trade a workout leo and a long sleeved leo for five Dream Team items, including a shirt for her dad, with a trainer right before leaving for the airport
  • There was a party for the gymnasts right before they left. Nadia and Shannon shared the honor of cutting the big cake in the gymnasts' honor. During the party, they learned Trent Dimas had won gold on high bar, which added to the celebration
  • It had been a big two weeks, but they were looking forward to life going back to normal

 

[RedBirdie]

I wonder what Claudia actually meant by watching the earlier rounds of AA final. There was only one, to my recollection. I wonder if she was confusing it with team optionals.

 

[QuietColours]

I'm not sure. The exact quote here:

As always on the day of all-around competition we caught the early bus into Barcelona and watched the early rounds. Shannon would be competing in the evening rotation. Ron and I were too excited to worry about our appetites, but Tessa and Troy were as hungry as ever. We went to dinner with some friends from Puerto Rico whose daughter was training at Dynamo (and went on to compete in the 1996 Olympics for Puerto Rico). In their company, we were finally able to understand the Catalonian menu.

Back at the Palau Sant Jordi arena, we waiting in a long line, a practice that was all too common for us by now. Tessa and Troy brought books to read. The atmosphere was electric. Movie stars and some of the Dream Team were there to watch.

From there she goes on to explain New Life and then goes into Shannon's performances. There are some obvious grammatical errors, so it might be an editorial mistake, or maybe there was something else gymnastics going on in the arena earlier in the day--a men's competition or something?

 

[RedBirdie]

First, thank you for typing that out, and the extensive summaries!

Maybe men's was earlier, as you suggest. I'm stumped. Or the whole Olympics was a whirlwinds and years later while writing it all blurred together for Claudia.

Did not expect a reference to Eileen Diaz!

 

[IratePanda]

Thank you so much for the summaries! I read this book when it first came out, and it's fascinating to revisit it now.

Kerri Strug published her memoir a couple of years before this one. I can't recall why she left the Karolyis after Barcelona. Maybe because Bela "retired" in a snit after Zmeskal's subpar Olympics? Anyway, I remember thinking in '92-'93 that it was a terrible idea for her to move to Dynamo. Sure enough, she had a miserable time with Nunno. Naively, I wondered if MIller had a better experience because she was his first protegee , but her mom's book put any illusions to rest.