Gymnastics briefs

By Compiled from Times wires

U.S. can't find golden touch

SYDNEY, Australia -- Finishing second in its five-team preliminary rotation, the U.S. women's team was left to watch the final seven teams compete and hope its lackluster performance didn't bounce it from the team final.

"If we would not make the (six-team) final, that would be a disaster," said team coordinator Bela Karolyi of the fall such a failure would reflect after the team gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

The United States finished its rotation a whopping 1.949 points behind China, which wasn't considered a prime medal contender.

The powerhouses -- Russia, Romania and Ukraine -- didn't compete until later, in a session in which scores tend to inflate and the early performers almost always see their standings decline.

The United States began its session on the balance beam, its most challenging apparatus, and watched in dismay as three-time Olympian Dominique Dawes fell off.

The sloppiness continued on the floor exercise. Kristen Maloney, who along with Elise Ray have combined to win the past three national floor titles, took a huge step off the mat. Ray dislocated a shoulder on a tumbling run, then stumbled well out of bounds.

"It popped out, no big deal," said Ray, who got the shoulder popped back into its socket and continued in the competition.

Jamie Dantzscher also performed poorly, prompting Karolyi to say, "She delivered a typical Dantzscher performance. Sometimes she's brilliant, sometimes not."

On the vault, Maloney landed on her knees on her first jump and walked back down the runway crying and biting her lip.

Karolyi said the necessary energy was missing from team members, several of whom yawned and looked distracted.

"I wish I could grab them by the shoulders," Karolyi said. "I would say a lot of words I cannot say but at this point, it's too late. Somebody needs to ignite them. ... Look at me, I'm shaking. This is more frustrated than I've ever been."

Ray was third in the all-around behind Yang Yun and Dong Fangxiao of China, and Chow was fourth.

The team final is Tuesday.

MEN: The United States put itself in reach of a team medal for the first time in 16 years with a solid performance in preliminaries, led by John Roethlisberger. He didn't let a dislocated finger stop him from delivering a near-perfect pommel horse routine.

The United States is in fourth place overall. The top six teams advanced to Monday's team final.

The Americans trail Alexei Nemov and the Russians, the defending gold medalists. The world champion Chinese, who already are planning an all-night victory celebration, are second, 0.137 behind the Russians.

Ukraine is third, 0.448 points ahead of the Americans. Japan is fifth and Romania sixth.