Zmeskal Hasn’t Put Gold Medal Out of Her Mind

At the time, Kim Zmeskal found it difficult to believe, so contrary was her Olympic experience to what she had imagined. Less then 10 seconds after the start of the 1992 gymnastic competition in Barcelona, Zmeskal fell doing a routine trick on the beam. It all went downhill from there.

“I remember thinking, ‘Why is this happening? I thought this was going to be one of the most amazing things in my life,’ ” Zmeskal said Saturday night before the UCLA/Gilda Marx Invitational at Pauley Pavilion. “And now when I look back on it, it really seems like a good experience.

“But when I think about all the supposedly awful things that happen, I’m like, ‘Why do I think (it was good)?’ Maybe, because I realize now how big of a deal it is just to make the team and to be on a podium with the medal.”

A bronze team medal was all that Zmeskal was able to take home to Houston, but in her heart, she never really left the medal platform. She scored the highest of any gymnast in the Olympic team competition, but few remember that. She announced her retirement after the Olympics, as did her coach, Bela Karolyi.

Zmeskal, then 16, finished two years of high school, catching up on what others said she was missing, even finding Friday night football games fascinating. Karolyi concentrated on upgrading his gym facility, but stayed away from coaching his elite team.

Zmeskal performed in exhibitions, but last year she decided to make a comeback, and, depending on who is talking, either approached Karolyi or was approached by him, both agreeing to aim for the 1996 Olympics.

“I couldn’t say no to her,” Karolyi said.

Zmeskal, 19, and Karolyi were at Pauley Pavilion for a men’s and women’s college meet Saturday night that included performances by Zmeskal and former Olympian and UCLA alumnus Scott Keswick, who scored the highest on five of six events to win the men’s all-around with 58.150 points. The UCLA women won the team competition (194.700) and swept the all-around, with Leah Homma taking individual honors with 39.450 points. Bruins’ Stella Umeh and Kareema Marrow finished a close second and third, respectively. Arizona State finished second (191.825), followed by Cal State Fullerton (190.475) and California (186.700).

Brigham Young won the men’s team competition (224.450), followed by UCLA (223.450), the UCLA alumni (223.150), Arizona State (221.050) and UC Santa Barbara (215.250).

Zmeskal performed a flawless but fairly easy floor exercise routine at the end of the meet, and there was a reason for the lack of difficulty. Her comeback was set back last summer when she suffered a knee injury during her first exhibition.

“It will not be easy,” Karolyi said. “Her knee injury was fairly serious and now, though it is fine, I don’t know how fast we can go. . . . If things go smoothly, though, she has a realistic chance to make the team.”

For Zmeskal, who in 1991 became the first U.S. gymnast to win the world championship, winning the team medal in Barcelona kept her determined to be in Atlanta. “I don’t remember being that happy, ever,” she said.