Page 16-Saturday July 26, 1980-The Michigan Daily
SpKorts
KIM AND COMANECI TIE ON FLOOR
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Nadia
MOSCOW (AP)-Nadia Comaneci spun a golden
show on the balance beam and in the floor exercises
at the Moscow Olympics last night after her defeat in
the all-around competition started a bitter controver-
sy among gymnastics officials and fans from three
Communist countries.
The 18-year-old Romanian star won a gold medal
on the balance beam after another, shorter,
discussion among the judges. And she tied with Nelli
Kim of the Soviet Union for the gold in the floor exer-
cises.
A SCORING CHANGE gave Comaneci the tie for
the gold with Kim. She first was listed behind Kim
due to a technical problem in the computerized
scoring machine.
The gymnasts competed Thursday on all four ap-
paratuses for an all-around point total and the most
coveted prize in the sport. Last night, gold medals
were given after competition on each apparatus.
It was Comanegi's narrow loss to Soviet Yelena
Davydova in the all-around competition Thursday
night that caused one of the biggest squabbles in
Olympic gymnastics history.
reigns on
Her coach, Bela Karolyi, charged the East German
chairman of the gymnastics federation with ordering
Comaneci's marks to be lowered in her final exercise
on the balance beam, costing her the competition.
KAROLYI SAID IT was "an arrangement" to in-
sure a Soviet winner. The Communist Party
newspaper in Romania, Scinteia, backed him,
headlining "They stole her gold medal. Nadia is still
the best."
But Ellen Berger, the East German at whom
Karolyi aimed his attack, said she didn't do it.
In an interview yesterday, Berger said the
Romanian head judge, Maria Simionescu, demanded
that Comaneci's mark of 9.85 on the balance beam be
upgraded, causing a 30-minute row that delayed
naming of a winner and awarding of medals.
It was a bizarre sight, with officials arguing, the
Romanian coach screaming and waving his arms,
gymnasts either pacing nervously on the sidelines or
trying to smile, and the crowd roaring for a decision.
BERGER SAID THE judges didn't want to make
the change Simionescu demanded and that she finally
ordered the scores posted. Davydova was named the
beam
winner and Comaneci and Maxi Gnauck of East
Germany tied for the silver medal.
Yuri Titov of the Soviet Union, president of the In-
ternational Gymnastics Federation, insisted Friday
that proper procedure was followed and accused
Karolyi of trying to influence the judges.
He said Davydova showed "more modern exer-
cises with very interesting new movements" and ad-
ded "I stand on one point. The final marks are a real
mirror of their performances."
AS THE GYMNASTICS competition drew to a close
last night, Gnauck won the gold in the uneven bars
competition and Natalya Shaposhnikova of the Soviet
Union won the vault. Davydova was second to
Comaneci in the beam event, scoring 19.80 points to
19.85 for the Romanian.
The Soviet team edged Romania for the team
medal Wednesday night.
Soviet gymnasts won three of the five final events
in the men's competition yesterday as the full Soviet
team continued their overwhelming domination of
these Games.
s
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Wells sprints to victory;
Coe, Ovett match tonight
MOSCOW (AP)-Archrivals Sebas-
tian Coe and Steve Ovett reached the
showdown stage of the 800-meter race
and Scotsman Allan Wells became the
first Britisher in 56 years to win an
Olympic sprint title, capturing the 100-
meter dash last night.
Coe and Ovett, the Britons who
dominate world middle distance run-
ning but have not faced each other in
two years, got on a collision course by
winning their semifinal heats.
And now, after cagily manuevering to
avoid each other since the 1978
European Championships, they will
slug it out for the gold medal tonight.
IN addition to Wells, who nipped
Cuba's Silvio Leonard in the 100-both
were timed in.10.25 seconds-two track
and field gold medals were decided
yesterday.
Jack Uudmae of the Soviet Union won
the triple jump at 56 feet, 11 inches,
beating three-time gold medalist Vikor
Saneyev, also of Russia, and Maria
Colon of Cuba took the women's javelin
title with an Olympic record of 222-5.
Wells, a 28-year-old Scot and a long
jumper until two years ago when he
decided to concentrate on sprinting,
took the 100 in a photo finish.
The last British subject to win the
Olympic 100 gold medal was Harold
Abrahams in 1924.
Wells, a marine engineer, has
preferred to run from a standing start
rather than using the conventional
metal blocks. But under regulations of
the International Anateur Athletic
Federation, the world governing body
of the sport, Wells was forced to start
fromthe blocks during the Games.
The victory by Uudmae in the triple
jump thwarted Saneyev's bid to
'become the second track and field
athlete in Olympic history to win four
consecutive gold medals in the same
event.
Medal Standings
Gold Silver Bronze Total
Soviet Unio . 1.. 4 27 13 74
EGetrmany.1 10 17 47
Bulgaria .......... 4 2 8 14
Hungary .......... 4 5 3 12
Romania .......... 4 3 5 12
Poland ....... 0 4 3 7
Sweden ............ 2 0 4 6
Great Britain ...... 2 2 1 5
Australia .......... 1 0 4 5
Cuba .............. 2 1 0 3
Italy ..... 2 0 1 3
France. 1 2 0 3
North Korea. 0 1 1 2
Brazil.. ....... 0 2 2
Czechoslovakia .... 0 0 2 2
Greece ..... 1 0 0 1
Switzerland.... 1 0 0 1
Mexico ............ 0 1 0 1
Austria ............ 0 0 1 1
Jamaica .......... 0 0 1 1
Finland. 0 0 1 1
Spain ..... 0 0 1 1
Denmark.......... 0 0 1 1
Lebanon........... 0 0 1 1
U
AN UNIDENTIFIED MEMBER of the jury shouts during the uproar in Moscow
Thursday night. Romania's Nadia Comaneci watches from the background.
Comaneci was supposedly discriminated against in favor of Russia's Yelena
Davydova who won the gold.
Stevenson
jabs at
3rd straight
Olympic gold
MOSCOW (AP)-Teofilo Stevenson is 29, a creaking age
for a top amateur boxer, but yesterday at the Olympics he
showed there is no rust on the weapons that made him king of
the sport.
The right-hand punch that carried the Cuban to Olympic
heavyweight championships in 1972 and 1976 crashed against
the jaw of Samson Ataga late in the third round, and Steven-
son's bid for another gold medal was underway in spec-
tacular fashion.
HE CERTAINLY APPEARED in peak condition when he
entered the ring, smiling and blowing kisses to the crowd for
his bout against 32-year-old Ataga, a Nigerian civil servant.
But some in the crowd began whistling derisively as the
round passed the two-minute mark with no action.
Ataga kept moving, flicking ineffectual left jabs.
Stevenson landed a few jabs and a short right upper cut,
but mostly he stalked, trying to set up his opponent for a
finishing punch.
"He's brainy fighter," said Henry Cooper, a former
European pro heavyweight champ who twice fought
Muhammad Ali and is here as a commentator for the British
Broadcasting Corporation. "You can see as he's boxing that
he's measuring a guy, jabbing, setting up."
THAT'S WHAT STEVENSON was doing in the closing
seconds. Ataga moved to Stevenson and jabbed. But he
pulled his glove back too low and the right crashed home.
Ataga went down in a heap. He struggled up at sixth but
was badly hurt and referee Goro Kawashima of Japan coun-
ted him out. The time was 2:59.
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