Good. This is where it starts. Emma hits, and we’ll be right back in this thing. Russia can’t match us on beam if we hit. Galina Kuznetsova is up there now, and even if she does everything she’s capable of, Emma can outscore her by nearly a point. We’re gonna do this.
The crowd applauds with their thundersticks for Galina as she dismounts, banging them together, though perhaps with not quite the same amount of enthusiasm as they did for me. They’re a pretty savvy crowd and know a great routine from a decent one.
Wow, Audrey, conceited much? Oh well, it’s the truth.
“You got this, Em!” I call to her just before she salutes, and with three running steps she’s up on the beam, her shoulders set, her feet steady, working through her skills, one by one. It’s solid. Just like her gymnastics has always been up until yesterday.
“Nice!” Chelsea says when she hits her switch split leap and then swings her arms, gaining momentum to connect it to a back pike, but the word is barely out of Chelsea’s mouth when Emma’s foot lands half off the beam and she slides down, her hip bouncing off the edge before she falls to her back on the mat.
The crowd gasps in that high-pitched, legitimately shocked way. I want to be shocked, but I’m not.How is this happening?
“This is a nightmare,” Chelsea mutters.
“Did she just?” Dani whispers.
She fell. Emma fell off the beam. Again.
Polite applause rings out in the arena when she remounts and then works through the rest of her routine, landing her dismount, an Arabian double front, like Dani. She sticks it cold, but that’s not going to make up for the fall. She’s down three points so far from falls alone, and when she jumps from the podium, she just walks right by me.
Irina Kareva is up on the beam, working through her routine steadily, no wavers or wobbles, and while I’d never root for someone to fall, now would be a great time for her to … not hit.
Crap.Don’t be like that, Audrey.Except … one missed routine we might have been able to absorb, but two? Two is not good, especially when her vault score wasn’t where it would normally be.Stop it, Audrey. Don’t think. Just … keep going.
Kareva dismounts, and I don’t need to see her score to know it’ll be great.
My eyes meet Chelsea’s, and I’m ready for her to berate me for doing math, but she doesn’t say anything, just presses her lips together into a firm line. Dani’s chewing on her lip, and Emma? She’s sitting on a chair, staring straight ahead, eyes unseeing. Who knows where her head is right now?
Our scores slide into place on the leaderboard, and my heart leaps into my throat. Yeah, this is not good.
It’s not even close anymore, and we’re not in a battle for the gold or even the silver. That would take a miracle in the form of China and Russia imploding with one rotation left to go. We’re a point behind Japan, and while we’re stronger than them on floor, a point is a lot to make up, especially … especially if Emma doesn’t hit. Looking at her now, sitting stock-still on a chair against the competition floor, eyes wide and breath still coming hard, it really doesn’t look like she’ll be able to stand, let alone get through four tumbling passes.
1.People’s Republic of China
134.2
2.Russian Federation
