The Magnificent Seven

How many people know what I'm talking about right now? Probably no one but you all should. The Magnificent 7 are the 7 female gymnasts that won the gold in Olympic Women's gymnastics for the first time in United States history in 1996. The girls who made up the team were Amy Chow, Amanda Borden, Dominique Dawes, Shannon Miller, Dominique Moceanu, Jaycie Phelps, and Kerri Strug.  They were the best shot at an Olympic team gold, but had to battle Russia and Romania, the two-time world champions. Just a little background info, for each team, you were aloud to have up to 7 gymnasts, but only 6 could compete per apparatus, and only 5 scores counted to your team score. The gymnasts routines were judged based on a 10 point scale, by 6 judges, all from different countries.

The women started the competition off behind Russia by only 1 tenth of a point. This didn't stop the young Americans. The first event the U.S. was on was the uneven bars, the strongest event they had. The Russians were on vault, Romanians on balance beam, and Ukraine on floor excersise. The Americans had Jaycie Phelps, Kerri Strug, Dominique Moceanu, Amy Chow, Shannon Miller, and Dominique Dawes competing for the first event. What happened next? Every single gymnast nailed their routines, earning a collective score of 48.736, which is tremendous. This is the reason the Americans pushed ahead of the Russians. 

Next event, Balance Beam. Competing for this event was Amanda Borden, Jaycie Phelps, Kerri Strug, Dominique Dawes, Shannon Miller, and Dominique Moceanu. They earned a collective score of 47.551, pulling even further ahead of Russia. 

Next up, floor excersise. The same 6 gymnasts competed for this apparatus. Shannon Miller had the only error of the gymnasts, but every other teammate nailed their routines. They earned a collective score of 48.761. Russia was inching it's way back up to the Americans.

Last but not least, the vault. This is where the nail biting begins. Phelps, Chow, Miller, Dawes, Moceanu, and Strug were the vaulters for the U.S. The first 4 gymnasts nailed their vaults, and it was up to Moceanu to seal the deal. All she needed was a 9.430 to secure the gold medal. First vault, she under rotates as lands on her butt. Second vault, she under rotates again and does the same thing, only earning a score of 9.2. This meant that Kerri Strug needed to deliver. First vault, she does the same exact thing as Moceanu, excepts seriously sprains her ankle. Pushing through to the second vault, she nails it, sticks the landing, and then had to be carried off the mat because of her ankle. The United States did it. They won the 1996 Women's Olympic Championship, with a full point lead over Russia! 

This is probably some of the best gymnastics I have ever seen in my life. Nothing compares to the moment when Kerri stuck her second vault, one footed. It is amazing what these young women could do, and it is a very inspirational story. 

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