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Olympic clock starts ticking at worlds
Anaheim (USA), Aug 14: Ignore that calendar that says there`s still a year until the 2004 Olympics. In the gymnastics world, the trip to Athens starts this weekend.
Anaheim (USA), Aug 14: Ignore that calendar that says there's still a year until the 2004 Olympics. In the gymnastics world, the trip to Athens starts this weekend.
The world championships, which begin on Saturday, are the
qualifier for the Athens Olympics. Win a spot, and your team
can start training. Fall short, and it's a long five years to
Beijing.
"There's a totally different look," former US women's team director Bela Karolyi said yesterday as he watched the men's training session. "People are dog-fighting. They're trying desperately to do it because they know that coming from these world championships is the right opportunity to be in the Olympic games."
And a quick glance at the numbers shows that most will go home disappointed. There are more than 1,000 gymnasts from 73 countries at worlds. Less than 200 will qualify for Athens.
Of the 41 women's teams here at worlds, only the top 12 qualify for Athens. The odds are even worse on the men's side, where 55 teams will be fighting for the 12 spots.
Next to that kind of competition, the Olympics are going to seem like a breeze.
"This is tougher. This is definitely tougher," Karolyi said. "It's going to be a much more vicious fight because they know, this is it. In the Olympic games, you've already qualified. (There's) that spirit of, `I'm an Olympian!'".
Bureau Report
"There's a totally different look," former US women's team director Bela Karolyi said yesterday as he watched the men's training session. "People are dog-fighting. They're trying desperately to do it because they know that coming from these world championships is the right opportunity to be in the Olympic games."
And a quick glance at the numbers shows that most will go home disappointed. There are more than 1,000 gymnasts from 73 countries at worlds. Less than 200 will qualify for Athens.
Of the 41 women's teams here at worlds, only the top 12 qualify for Athens. The odds are even worse on the men's side, where 55 teams will be fighting for the 12 spots.
Next to that kind of competition, the Olympics are going to seem like a breeze.
"This is tougher. This is definitely tougher," Karolyi said. "It's going to be a much more vicious fight because they know, this is it. In the Olympic games, you've already qualified. (There's) that spirit of, `I'm an Olympian!'".
Bureau Report