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Morning News

Gymnastics Coach Bela Karolyi Discusses Sydney Olympics, World Tour

Aired October 26, 2000 - 9:54 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Bela Karolyi is arguably the world's best-known gymnastics coach. You may remember names like Nadia Comaneci, Mary Lou Retton and Kerri Strug. All trained by Bela Karolyi.

And he is here, stopped by CNN to visit with us today.

Coach, good to see you.

BELA KAROLYI, FMR. U.S. GYMNASTICS COACH: Good to see you.

KAGAN: Let's look back first and talk about the Summer Olympics. The U.S. women did not do how many Americans expect the American gymnasts to do. What was missing from this year's team?

KAROLYI: It sure wasn't a repeat of the great Atlanta performance, but I believe that it was unjustifiable demand to have a repeat. A repeat doesn't come always in the sport.

We had a dramatic drop after the Olympic games. That generation went out. New generation came in. They had to have the time to grow to the greatness of the previous great team.

But they done a great effort, and I can't complain. The kids done the best effort at the Olympic games.

KAGAN: A lot of people thought that they overachieved for their talent level?

KAROLYI: That is exactly the case. They really tried their best and they trained very seriously. And we've had other medal contending position. We were in to fight for the bronze. That was our ultimate goal. And I don't want to bring excuses, but a little more fortune, not competing on the early morning hours, where everything was cold and the judge's mind was cold and giving us the low scores versus the Chinese, we must then beat the Russians and the Rumanians at the evening session, everything was hot. cheering crowd. And, of course, we are very much handicapped.

Then, we have a few injuries that was also contributed to not reaching quite a competitive edge like we wanted to be.

KAGAN: The entire competition, though, not just for the Americans, seemed to be cursed. What stands out in my mind is a situation with the vault. It wasn't even placed at the right place. That hurt the competition, but somebody could have been seriously injured. How could in a competition so big something like that happen?

KAROLYI: I don't want to complain, because that's just sour grapes. I have to make the statement. Of course, television didn't give justice to the whole organization, the television showed very beautiful everything. It wasn't quite that beautiful. The organization was a lack of specific, particular attendance and that -- the type of values organization, high-quality organization that we are used to in this country. It was sloppy, it was frustrating, it was annoying many, many times. Among them, of course the most frustrating, was the wrong set of apparatus, destroyed the team of 50 percent of the participants and our golden girl, our national championship Elise Ray, the one who could be placed on the first minimum six people in the world as an all-around performer. She was destroyed by two consecutive vaults which was caused by it.

KAGAN: Now you have an international group of gymnasts and you are on the road. Actually, that is why you are here in Atlanta. Tell us a little bit about the tour.

KAROLYI: This is going to be the greatest reward for all those great athletes, the ones who are just coming off from the Sydney Olympic Games, the reigning Olympic champion, the Russian, Alexi Nemov going to be with us; Olympic Svetlana Chorkina, maybe the most controversial, yet the most spectacular woman I think of all time. Along with Amy Chow, Dominique Moceanu will be in the tour. It is going to be beautiful. It is a show. People got to understand. This is something they always wanted to see. It is music, it is costumes, it is just gorgeous. I mean, it is a combination of beautiful thing. And everybody going to love, particularly the young generation of the sports of gymnastics.

KAGAN: Well, you sell it well, you make me want to go jump on the uneven bars or the balance beam myself. Good luck on the tour. Thanks for stopping by.

KAROLYI: Thank you very, very much.

KAGAN: Coach Bela Karolyi.

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