1996 Olympic USA Women's Gymnastics Team Quiz

Answer: Shannon Miller and Dominique Moceanu

Shannon Miller and Dominique watched the final tryouts from the bleachers. They did not want to further injure fractures that they had received at nationals, and the officials had confidence that their scores were high enough to make the roster. After the competition, their scores had remained the highest. They made the final team membership along with Dominique Dawes, Kerri Strug, Jaycie Phelps, Amy Chow, and (team captain) Amanda Borden.

The final roster was based on the following scores:

Shannon Miller - 78.380 (from nationals)
Dominique Moceanu - 78.220 (from nationals)
Dominique Dawes - 78.157
Kerri Strug - 78.108
Jaycie Phelps - 77.736
Amy Chow - 77.267
Amanda Borden - 77.162

(Source:https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2020/04/24/kerri-strug-shannon-miller-magnificent-seven-gymnastics-olympic-team/)

Answer: Amanda Borden

Except for one vote, the girls all chose the same name for team captain. Amanda was the only one who had not voted for herself. Their coach described it as a defining moment of unity between the seven women.

The team captain position was a high honor for Amanda. The 1996 Olympic women's gymnastics' team was not her first Olympic tryout or experience. Amanda Borden lost her spot on the team in 1992. Her comeback as a captain proved her talent and ability in many ways. It also demonstrated her teammates faith in her.

She had less experience than many of of her colleagues, but she was known for calming them in high pressure situations and helping them reach their goals. She led her team in 1996 to several breaking records and earned her spot on several more USA Women's gymnastic teams.

Answer: The Soviet Union

The Soviet Union had ended the 1992 Olympics as the winner of the gymnastics competition. The United States and the Soviet Union competed very heavily in the Olympic games due to the tension of viewpoints between the countries. Gymnastics was one of the sports where the Soviet Union dominated the games and medals.

The Soviet Union officially disbanded in 1991, and their committee ran the soviet territories teams in 1992. In 1996, Russia competed for the first time as a country separate from other Soviet territories.

Answer: floor exercise

Kerri Strug had the leading score in the qualifying rounds, but could not move on to finals due to her injuries in the other competitions. She was replaced by Dominque Dawes who had the next highest score. Dominique Dawes became known as "Awesome Dawesome" for her role in helping her team lead in the gymnastic games in 1996.

She won the first gymnastics Olympian medal for an African American woman, with her floor exercise score of 9.837.

Answer: False

Jaycie Phelps performed very solid in all four of the Olympic women gymnastic competitions. Due to the rule of only three competitors per country in the finals, Phelps did not get to compete for a medal because her teammates had the higher scores. Her high scores did help the team get a lead on the heavier competitions that included Romania and Russia.

This became very valuable when her teammates had injuries that lowered their high scores in the lead. Her career ended with the 1996 Olympics. She was inducted into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame in 2008 for her gymnastic contributions.

Answer: a fall into the bars that caused a head injury

During her routine of three layouts, Moceanu missed the second layout and smashed her head into a beam. She was able to catch her balance, but the damage to her score was done. The mistake knocked her from the top of the scores down to sixth place.

Shannon Miller performed her routine in spite of several injuries from prior competitions. She became the first American woman to win a gold medal at the balance beam competition in gymnastics.

Answer: floor exercise

Dominique Moceanu was one of the youngest members of the women's gymnastics team and was pushed to compete despite severe injuries. After receiving a tibial stress fracture in one of the gymnastic competitions, she was moved to compete in the floor exercise without being examined or treated properly. Later she received a head injury from a fall in the balance beam competition.

The era of the Magnificent Seven pushed Olympians to perform under intense stress and injury, with pressure of honoring their country. Dominique Moceanu opened up about her injuries when Olympian Simon Biles, sat out the gymnastics competition due to health concerns at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She applauded Biles decision by saying, "I was 14 year old with a tibial stress fracture, left alone with no cervical spine exam after this fall. I competed in the Olympic floor final minutes later. Simone Biles's decision demonstrates that we have a say in our own health; a say, I never felt I had as an Olympian."

(Source: Dominique Moceanu, Daily Mail, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-9792541/Former-Olympic-gymnast-Dominique-Moceanu-speaks-abusive-Team-USA-coaches.html)

Answer: They shared the medal.

Amy Chow routine made her the first Asian American woman to win a gymnastics medal for the United States. Her victorious moment had to be shared. In 1996, the Olympics did not have tie breakers for Olympians that tied in events. Amy's score tied with China, due to the judges not counting a visible mistake Bi Wenjing made.

However, her silver medal placement aided the USA's team spot for lead for gold.

Answer: ankle injury

The vault was the final event for Team USA to place for the gold medal as a team. Dominique Moceanu had the first chance to place the team in a comfortable lead, but fell in her routine. Her mistake placed her individually at sixth place and left considerable pressure on Strug to save the the team's place.

Strug fell on her first attempt and heard the pop in her ankle. She was pushed by her coach to get up and try again. Limping and in pain, the crowd watched her do a second vault routine. She landed flawlessly on her injury, collapsing in pain. Her second attempt earned her an individual gold medal and placed her team at the top of the scores. Strug sprained her ankle and tore two ligaments from her second routine on her injury. Her vault win in 1996 has become one of the most noted moments in Olympian gymnastic history.

Answer: They were the first non Soviet territory to win women's gymnastics since the 1950's.

The United States finished with a score of 389.225, topping them above Russia and Romania, the top nations for the past five decades. The Soviet Union and their former territories had dominated gymnastic competitions in the World Championships and Olympics since the 1950s. Although the Soviet Union disbanded in 1991, Russia and former Soviet Union territories still led the competitions.

The "Magnificent Seven" had several record breakers for the USA and had the honor of bringing home the first team gold medal. They were honored as a team in the USA Olympic Hall of Fame in 2008. Many of the members ended their careers with the 1996 Olympics. Shannon Miller ended her multi-Olympic game career with seven medals, after finally winning her gold medal at the 1996 games. Amanda Borden, the captain, did not return. Dominique Moceanu could not return to the 2000 Olympics due to injuries and family concerns. Phelps tried to make a comeback and did not succeed in making the Olympic team tryouts for the 2000 team. Strug did not make a comeback after her injuries in the 1996 games. Amy Chow and Dominique Dawes were the only two that continued, and went on to compete in the 2000 Olympics.