Kerri Strug was in New York accepting an ESPY Monday Night, while the rest of her Magnificent Seven teammates were in the Delta Center on the final stop of the 1997 Tour of World Gymnastics Champions.
Isn't it fitting then that there wasn't a vault in the Delta Center either. Out of the eight different apparatus used in both men's and women's gymnastics, the only one missing was the vault.Strug's historic vault has been replayed countless times since the U.S. women's gymnastics team won the gold medal. Despite the fact that with or without that memorable vault the gold was already sewed up, the excitement Strug generated for gymnastics almost single-handedly ignited the tour's excitement.
Fifty-four cities later, the greatest collection of Olympic gymnasts concluded their six-month long tour with a memorable finale before 5,000-plus fans at the Delta Center."It's quite ironic that we started this tour in one American Olympic city in Atlanta and we end in the next American Olympic city in Salt Lake City," 1996 U.S. Olympic Team coach Steve Nunno said.
Even though Strug's absence was quite noticeable at first, by the end of the evening, most the fans didn't care. They were treated to a special effects light show highlighting some of the best gymnasts in the world.
The Magnificent Six opened the evening by performing a dance number to the "Impossible Dream." But that was only the beginning.
During the next couple hours, Lilia Podkopayeva, the 1996 Olympic all-around gold medalist, Kim Zmeskal, three-time world champion and six members of the 1996 U.S. men's team wowed the crowd with exciting routines and group performances.
In addition to the Olympic athletes, children from ages 2-17 performed exhibition routines, many of who were from Salt Lake City. The crowd was also treated to an inspirational speech by Bela Karolyi, who at times sounded like Anthony Robbins.
But the individual most responsible for the tour's extraordinary success was clearly absent.
"None of the girls have been in contact with (Kerri) since the Olympic games," Nunno said. "Initially they wanted the whole team together, but it's been such a fantastic tour, I don't know how you can make it better by adding or subtracting somebody."