Back at home, Sacramone gets a heroine's welcome
Despite missteps, Olympic gymnast inspires
BURLINGTON - Girls with high ponytails and leotards lined up yesterday to see their idol. She wasn't a gold medal winner, and in fact made a few of the Olympics' most high-profile mistakes, but it didn't matter to the hundreds who made signs and T-shirts in her honor. Alicia Sacramone, their hero, was home.
Sacramone, a Winchester native and captain of the silver medal USA Gymnastics team, stumbled in Beijing. She didn't win an individual medal, placed fourth in the vault - an event in which she was expected to win a medal - and fell on the beam during the team competition. This mistake, and a foot out of bounds on her floor routine, were seen as key factors in her team's loss to China in the battle for gold.
Despite the fact that she didn't shine in the games, Sacramone was the star of the show yesterday at a celebration in her honor at the Burlington gym where she trains.
"After long months of traveling and high stress situations, coming back to friends and family is amazing," said Sacramone, 20, who smiled throughout the event, signing posters, T-shirts, and shorts.
Gymnastics teams from across the state came to the celebration and ate free ice cream and pizza while waiting their turn for an autograph. Fans began lining up at 10 a.m. and seemed unfazed that Sacramone didn't bring home as many medals as expected.
Jannelle Minichiello, 16, trains at the same gym as Sacramone and looks up to her - and not just because she went to the Olympics.
"She is determined and hard-working," she said. "Every gymnast wants to be like that."
Jessica Joseph, 11, who came to the event with her team, Head Over Heels Gymnastics of Norwell, said she watched all of the gymnastics coverage and still idolizes Sacramone despite her missteps. "She never gives up on what she does, even if she messes up," said Joseph, who along with her team had made signs supporting Sacramone.
Although the Olympics gymnastics events are over and Sacramone is home, the sport has not faded from the headlines; the International Olympic Committee has called for an investigation of the age of the gymnasts on the Chinese team, which won gold. Gymnasts must be at least 16 years old to compete in the Games, but there has been widespread speculation that some of the Chinese competitors were underage.
"From the look of things, they did look young, but I don't look 20," she said. "If they want to do an investigation we will see how things go."
But it didn't seem to be on her mind yesterday, as she thanked every girl she posed with, the silver team medal dangling from her neck.
What is next for Sacramone? A vacation and heading back to Brown University in the fall, she said. As for gymnastics? She's taking that decision "one day at a time." 