U.S.-Soviet Gymnastics Meet : Despite Improvement, American Women Lag Behind Their Rivals

The U.S. gymnasts found out exactly where they stand, which is well behind the Soviet Union. This is more confirmation than revelation, however. Probably everybody is behind the Soviets. But the Americans are strangely consolable; they are taking cheer in the small fact that they are at least not as far behind as they used to be.

The Soviet women’s team, expected to be a close approximation of their 1988 Olympic entry, did not look like a team that would be easing its dominance any time soon, at least not over the United States. Nobody expected that of them, though.

Placing three gymnasts in all the medal spots, the Soviets smoked the U.S. team by nearly three points to win the team competition. Only Sabrina Mar, who tied Oksana Omelianchik for third place in the all-around scoring, interrupted the top placing of all six Soviets in Saturday’s dual meet.

In the men’s competition, the Soviets were no less dominating, although a little less so than in the World Championships, when they placed first to the United States’ ninth. But even though the Soviet edge was just 4.475 points, an improvement from the U.S. point of view, the Saturday night session quickly became more of a thrill show than a competition.

It began quickly when Valeri Lukin attempted the first triple somersault ever tried in this country on floor exercises. Lukin didn’t quite pull it off, but he came back later in the evening to score 10s on pommel horse and on high bar. Two-time world champion Yuri Korolev matched him on high bar and scored another 10 on floor. The other two-time world champion in the meet, Dmitri Belozertchev, scored a 10 on parallel bars, finishing second in all-around to Korolev. Vladimir Artemov was third, Lukin fourth.

Highest U.S. finisher was Olympian Scott Johnson, who placed fifth as the U.S. men were outscored, 295.65 to 291.175.

The Soviet women’s team, which with the exception of boycotted Olympics of 1984 has won the team championship in every Games since they rejoined the movement in 1952, can be penciled in to win another, probably avenging their second place finish to the Romanians in the October World Championships. The U.S., which finished second in the recent Olympics, is not likely to repeat even that placing.

What a difference a boycott makes.

“This is about what I expected,” said Olympic Coach Don Peters, who all week was saying the U.S. gymnasts were in for a rocky prelude to international competition. Yet he was pleased that his team did as well as it had, particularly in Thursday’s compulsory exercises. The U.S. team, affected by some administrative gaffes earlier in the Olympic cycle, placed sixth in the World Championships (under a different coach) and seemed on a downward spiral. But Saturday, there were at least competitive. Even the Soviets said so.

Soviet Coach Andrei Rodienko, while hinting that you ain’t seen nothing yet, agreed that the U.S. is “much stronger” than it was last October. And Mar, the SCATS member won the all-around in the Pan Am Games, particularly impressed Rodienko. “She is real leader of team,” he said.

Still, way behind his one-two punch of Svetlana Boguinskaya and Olga Strazheva. Those two battled it out for the all-around title all day. Fifteen-year-old Boguinskaya, who placed third in this same event last year, finally won the title with a 9.975 on floor, to edge Strazheva, last year’s runner-up, by .050. Boguinskaya won three events, teammate Natalia Frolova won the beam.

And Boguinskaya said the best is yet to come. “The thing is,” she said, through an interpreter, “I didn’t have my full Olympic program. A lot was in reserve.”

Rodienko added, in a chilling aside, “Only four girls have shown their Olympic program.” Boguinskaya and Frolova held out parts of routines, and even newcomer Elena Schevchenko had a pared down uneven bars presentation.

What is worse, for those who presume to stop the Soviets, is that they may have better gymnasts in reserve, as well as routines. Missing were Elena Shoushounova, second and first in the two last two World Championships, and Svetlana Boitova, who some tout as their best.

One-time Romanian coach Bela Karolyi, now thoroughly Americanized in Houston, agrees that Boitova may have been held out for strategic reasons. “She got a cold shower in this country,” he said, referring to her second-place finish in this year’s America’s Cup. “But she is still the biggest threat.”

As for Shoushounova, who is ailing but along for the ride, Karolyi said it was more of a farewell tour. “She is gone, history. Age, usage--she is used up like a battery.” Shoushounova, withered at 19, may not have heard the news yet.

It is not easy to penetrate the Soviet mystique, but the Soviets may have reason to wonder about the Americans. Neither Kristie Phillips, who beat the Soviets at their own game last year, was here, nor was Phoebe Mills, who beat Boitova. Phillips, who has had a disastrous decline in image, if not skill, has been held out of the last two important meets since she left Karolyi for Peters. Mills broke her finger in training recently.

Peters said the U.S. women “still have a lot of work to do in the gym.” But he was also relieved at the performance. “I was nervous about the competition,” he admitted. “But we’re closer to the Soviets now than we were in Rotterdam (at the World Championships).”He is encouraged to think that the U.S. can battle East Germany, Bulgaria and China for the bronze medal, which is all that will be left behind after the fight between the Soviets and the reigning world champion Romanians.

The two teams will meet again at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion for an exhibition at 2 p.m. today. There will be no scoring.