Sports Nut: Last Leotard Standing

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Sports Nut Last Leotard Standing The United States women's gymnastics team keeps winning gold, but at what cost to the athletes? By Dvora Meyers Posted Wednesday, Oct 12, 2011, at 04:05 PM ET The U.S. women's gymnastics team trounced the competition in Tuesday's world championships in Tokyo, beating the Russians to win the team gold. The Americans' dominance was surprising considering the team's recent run of injuries. World vault champion Alicia Sacramone ruptured her Achilles tendon during training and had to withdraw. Another team member, Anna Li, was demoted to alternate due to an abdominal injury. And Aly Raisman competed in Tokyo despite lightly injuring her ankle just a few days before the world championships started. Are all of these injuries merely freakishly bad luck? Maybe not. If you read the comments on the USA Gymnastics Facebook page immediately after Sacramone's injury was publicized—many of which have since been removed—you would've seen one person take the blame for all this bodily harm: Martha Karolyi. Martha Karolyi, who has historically been overshadowed by her much louder, mustachioed husband, Bela, has helmed the U.S. women's gymnastics program since 2001. Together, the Karolyis coached Nadia Comaneci to the first perfect 10 and Mary Lou Retton to the all-around title at the 1984 Olympics. But now it is Martha who is in charge of team selection and who runs the monthly training camps at their Texas ranch. While her leadership has been credited with the tremendous success of the women's program after the medal drought of the 1997-2000 quadrennium, she's also been criticized for the ligament damage she's left in her wake. The monthly ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Mitt Romney's Astonishingly Liberal Answers During the GOP Debate Remembering Frank Kameny, the Man Who Did More To Make Life Better for Gay Americans Than Anyone Why Do Italians Put Up With Silvio Berlusconi?	Advertisement
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