Not all fun in Games

Sacramone fails to medal in vault; Johnson and Liukin finish 2-3 in floor

Shawn Johnson (left) of the United States poses with the silver medal, Sandra Izbasa of Romania poses with the gold medal and Nastia Liukin of the United States poses with the bronze medal after the women's individual floor final. (Getty Images Photo / Jed Jacobsohn)

BEIJING - After gymnast Alicia Sacramone takes the long flight back to New England from Beijing, she might fly somewhere else just to escape for a while.

The Winchester, Mass., native traveled to China with dreams of coming back home with two Olympic gold medals. Sacramone, however, only will be packing one silver medal upon her return.

She finished fourth in the vault in the women's individual event finals last night at the National Indoor Stadium with a score of 15.537. Korea's Hong Un Jong won the gold (15.650), followed by Germany's 33-year-old Oksana Chusovitina (15.575) and China's Cheng Fei (15.562).

Sacramone and the Americans earned a silver medal in the team final last Wednesday, but slips by Sacramone were among those that caused the US's gold medal hopes to slip away.

"Everything just hit me at once," said Sacramone, who appeared a bit emotional when talking to the media. "The team and then the vault ending the way it did. I think I need a vacation. It's time I get a vacation."

It wasn't all disappointment for the US women, who won a silver and a bronze in the floor exercise final last night. Romania's Sandra Izbasa won the gold with a score of 15.650, followed by Americans Shawn Johnson (15.500) and Nastia Liukin (15.425). Johnson was first up in the rotation, and her score stood up until Izbasa, the final competitor, did her routine.

Johnson, from West Des Moines, now has three silver medals in Beijing and will take part in the women's beam final tomorrow. When asked the difference between her performance and Izbasa's, Johnson said, "I'm not really sure. Sandra had an amazing routine today. She stuck all of her landings. She had beautiful execution today. She had flexibility. She had everything.

"I definitely think my landings could have been a little better. But I gave what I could today and I had a great time. I take nothing bad from it."

Liukin now has won gold, silver, and bronze here and will take part in the women's uneven bars final today and the women's beam final.

"I wasn't nervous, which kind of scared me," said Liukin, who is from Parker, Texas. "I didn't have butterflies. I was like, 'Am I competing or not?' I felt so calm and I was like, 'Hey, I've got to get that adrenaline going.' I think because I know floor is not my best event, I just wasn't as nervous."

The US did not have a participant in the men's floor exercise final, in which China's 4-foot-11-inch Zou Kai won with a score of 16.050.

American Alexander Artemev finished seventh in the men's pommel horse final with a score of 14.975; the Denver native said he was distracted by the crowd and lost focus. China's Xiao Qin won the gold with a score of 15.875.

"I usually block everything out," Artemev said. "I got careless with my skill."

Drawing the leadoff spot in the vault was tough for Sacramone, because scores tend to get higher as the event goes on. After Sacramone competed, Cheng, the favorite and a three-time world champion in the event, went second and earned a better score despite falling to her knees on her second vault. Sacramone's coach, Mihai Brestyan, believed Sacramone should have received a higher score because of Cheng's fall. But Cheng's start value was much higher than Sacramone's.

While admitting he is biased, Brestyan said he believed Sacramone deserved the bronze, at least. "In my mind, as the coach, I thought this mistake was enough for us to get ahead of [Cheng]," Brestyan said. "But I don't judge."

Said Sacramone, "Considering she landed on her knees, I thought her deduction would be a little bit higher than what it was. She still had good form and everything in the air."

Hong and Chusovitina soon also surpassed Sacramone.

Sacramone took a year off from school for the Olympics but she plans to return to Brown University to study sociology while also continuing to train and compete.

"It was really stressful," she said about the Olympics. "But it was a great learning experience and I think it made me a better person going through what I went through. I'm excited to go home."

The stress for the US captain began in the team final, when an admittedly nervous Sacramone fell off the beam and botched her floor routine. But Sacramone and Brestyan didn't feel that carried over to last night.

Sacramone said she recovered mentally with help from her teammates and coaches, trainers at the Olympic Village, and phone calls and text messages from family and friends back home. But it wasn't enough.

"I definitely had to pull myself together a little bit," Sacramone said. "The last couple of days haven't been easy. I went out there and finished my Olympics the best I could."

"I would have given anything for her to have [an individual] medal," said Johnson. "She has worked so hard. She's an inspiration to all of us.

"She's been our team leader for many years and she's overcome so much. She definitely deserves one, and will always be a gold medalist in our eyes."