East Germany Has Already Taken a Big Tumble in Gymnastics

Since November, when the Berlin Wall fell, it has been expected that the dominance of East German sports would also crumble. But few could have expected it this soon.

If there can be such a thing as a rout in gymnastics, it happened Saturday. The United States women beat the East Germans by five points in a exhibition dual meet.

The United States scored 192.75 points to 187.588 for the East Germans. The American score wasn’t particularly high, but still solid. The East German performance, however, was almost embarrassing, especially for its first team.

“This is a young team, with only one senior member,” said Dr. Peter Kotzurek, who coaches the East German women. “This is a new beginning with a new team.”

This is the first time in 11 years that East Germany has sent a gymnastics team to the United States. The team was well received by the crowd of 5,300 at the Mid-South Coliseum, who gave them a standing ovation when they marched in behind their national flag.

But there was little East Germany did after that to warrant applause.

The Americans outperformed the East Germans in every event, especially the uneven bars and beam. The East Germans came closest to the Americans on the floor exercise, the final event, but by then were five points behind.

There is only one gymnast left from the team East Germany sent to the 1989 world championships, Baerbel Wielgoss. The rest have retired. Wielgoss, along with Diana Schroeder and Anke Schoenfelder, are the core of the team. But they slipped and fell almost as much as their teammates.

The United States finished in fourth place at the world championships, one spot ahead of the East Germans.

In contrast, the U.S. team had four returning gymnasts from the world championships--Wendy Bruce, Chelle Stack, Kim Kelly and Sandy Woolsey--who, with few exceptions, had solid performances.

Bruce won the all-around with 39.225 points, followed by American Elisabeth Crandall at 38.875 and East Germany’s Schroeder at 38.475.

But the real standout of this meet was 13-year-old Shannon Miller. The 4-foot-3 teen-ager from Edmond, Okla., finished seventh, beating Stack, and four East Germans.

“I think I could have done better,” said Miller, whose routines include high-difficulty moves, both on the beam and the floor.

She scored a 9.6 on the vault, a 9.75 on the uneven bars, a 9.20 on the beam and a 9.225 on the floor. Falls on the beam and the floor cost her .50.

Miller will be eligible for the 1991 World Championships, although she will be only 14, because that meet will be a qualifier for the 1992 Olympics. Normally, a gymnast must turn 15 within the year of the competition.

The United States showed its dominance early, outscoring East Germany by almost a point--48.750 to 47.975--on the vault. However, the performances on the vault were poor, and for the East Germans, it was not because they attempted vaults with high difficulty. Schroeder earned the highest score, a 9.75.

Things didn’t improve for the East Germans. In the next event, the uneven bars, Sabine Otte missed the high bar on a Deltchev release move, landing on her stomach. The Deltchev--in which the gymnast takes a giant swing in a straddle position, releases the bar and then recatches it behind her--is a tough, but common move among elite athletes. Otte scored an 8.25.

At the end of the second rotation, the United States was ahead by more than three points.

Most figured that the East Germans would make up their losses on the beam, where the Americans are usually outscored. Not this time.

The first three East Germans had some kind of fall, either off the beam or on the dismount. And in the middle of all this again was Miller, who delighted the crowd with two back layouts and an attempt at a difficult dismount--two back flips with a full twist. She fell, but still earned a 9.2.

The hopes of the East Germans fell to Schroeder and Wielgoss. They fell too. And with only the floor exercise remaining, the United States led East Germany by 4.9 points.

East Germany will have another chance today in men’s competition.