The Hindu : Sport / Olympic Games : Deferr locks up vault

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Aug 24, 2004

Sport

Sport - Olympic Games

Deferr locks up vault

ATHENS, AUG. 23. Gervasio Deferr retained his Olympic title after vaulting to victory at the Athens Games on here Monday. But the Spaniard's victory was overshadowed by an injury sustained by Russia's Alexei Bondarenko, who landed awkwardly after both of his vaults and had to be carried out of the arena on a stretcher.

The first competitor to go on the apparatus, Bondarenko landed on his stomach after his first vault and ended up sprawled on his back after his second attempt.

The silver medallist from Sydney had to be helped off the mat and was treated by the on-site medics at the Olympic Indoor Hall before being carried off. Cheered on by a large contingent of Spanish fans, Deferr's 2-1/2 twisted somersaults was enough to land him the gold with an average of 9.737.

Deferr had served a three months drugs ban in 2003 after testing positive for cannabis. A broad smile broke out on Deferr's face the moment his closest rival, Romania's Marian Dragulescu stumbled on landing after his second vault to finish third. Latvia's Evgeni Sapronenko was awarded the silver.

Twice world champion Li Xiaopeng, who had been undefeated on the apparatus at every major competition for the last two seasons, continued China's poor showing in gymnastics in Athens. He found himself sitting on the mat after his first attempt and trailed in seventh place.

Sublime Ponor

Catalina Ponor showed off her sublime balancing skills on the beam to win her second gold medal at Athens. Having guided Romania to the team title last week, Ponor was rewarded for her precision and artistry with a winning score of 9.787.

American Carly Patterson on the United States finished second with 9.775 while Ponor's teammate Alexandra Eremia had to be content with bronze.

Courtney Kupets's gamble to compete with a hamstring injury failed to pay off as she trailed in fifth place.

Chinese pair Zhang Nan and Li Ya had been expected to provide stiff competition to the Romanian but the close contest failed to materialise. Both teenagers fell off the four-inch apparatus within moments of mounting it, leaving Ponor to celebrate in the arms of her coach.

Superiority

Valeri Goncharov emphasised his superiority on the parallel bars to grab the gold medal. The Ukrainian executed a dynamic swinging routine on the bars to upstage Japan's Hiroyuki Tomita and favourite Li Xiaopeng of China with a score of 9.787. Hiroyuki had to be content with silver after he was eclipsed by just 0.012 of a point. Defending champion Li of China trailed in third place.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Olympic Committee would consider supporting South Korea's bid to pursue a duplicate gold medal for one of its gymnasts to make up for the scoring error that gave American Paul Hamm the all-around title. USOC officials met with members of the South Korean Olympic Committee and are trying to find an `equitable solution,' Darryl Seibel, a spokesman for the USOC, said on Monday. - AP

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