Miller Shows Way With Consistency

Shannon Miller upstaged Vitali Scherbo at the World Gymnastics Championships on Wednesday with a streak of consistency even the six-time Olympic gold medalist couldn’t match.

Scherbo failed to qualify for the rings final, but is still alive in six other events, although he did not perform as well as expected.

Miller, the 16-year-old from Edmond, Okla., compiled a sweep of highest scores in all four events at Birmingham, England, to finish with the top score in qualifying for the women’s all-around final.

Miller, who won two silver and three bronze medals at the Barcelona Olympics, where Scherbo won six golds, totaled 39.286 points. She scored 9.787 in floor exercises, 9.762 on the vault, 9.850 on the uneven bars and 9.887 on the beam.

Olympic gold medalist Lavinia Milosovici of Romania was second at 38.923, followed by Dominique Dawes of Silver Spring, Md., at 38.892 and Kerri Strug, 15, of Tucson at 38.779.