I nod. “Yes. Whoa.”
It’s Irina Kareva left and her triple-twisting Yurchenko. The Kareva. The vault that everyone thought would propel her to the gold medal ahead of Emma and Dani and the rest of the world.
Except when she sprints down the runway and launches into her vault, she does two and a half twists, sticking it cold, which sends the crowd into apoplexy. Six out of six sticks in one rotation.
But the only rotation I’m interested in is the half twist Kareva didn’t do.
Maybe she wasn’t feeling good about it in training. Maybe she thinks without Emma around, she’s got the gold on lock. Whatever it is, she downgraded her major advantage in this competition, and when I smile and offer her my fist to bump, it might be a little too genuine.
Her score comes up quickly. There wasn’t much to deduct, and the crowd buzzes again. A 15.4 for Irina, exactly like Dani scored. They’re tied as we all line up to march to bars.
1.Daniela Olivero (USA)
15.4
1.Irina Kareva (RUS)
15.4
3.Ana-Maria Popescu (ROM)
14.8
