Advanced: Olympic Silver Medalists

Yes, yes, it's all well and good when a lovely, hard-working gymnast wins the All-Around competition at the Olympics. But the silver medalists are who I look at (at least once I've stopped cheering for the champion) first. They have worked equally as hard, maybe even more so, but bad luck, injuries, or pressure have caused them to surrender that sweet accomplishment.

1972 (Munich, Germany) - Karin Janz, Germany - She couldn't pull out the AA, but she got a sweet consolation prize by getting gold on the bars--even beating out Olga Korbut, the darling of gymnastics at this time.

1976 (Montreal, Canada) - Nelli Kim, then-Soviet Union - The 8th most successful gymnast of all time (according to MostepanovaFan), she did even better than Janz in the consolation department, taking the floor and vault titles as if to say, "HAH, Nadia! You can have the stupid bars and beam, I take the power events!" Between the two of them, it was a clean sweep.

1980 (Moscow, Russia) - Maxi Gnauck, Germany and Nadia Comaneci, Romania - In one of the most lopsided Olympics in gymnastics history, Nadia got a taste of Kim's anguish in the AA, but the catfight was not over between them. It was probably feeling a little claustrophobic on that podium when they had to share the floor gold. That plucky little tomboy Maxi was a treat on the bars, and deserved to stand alone for that medal.

1984 (Los Angeles, California, USA) - Ecaterina Szabo, Romania - Another controversial games brought an American all-around champion (which was a "le gasp!" moment at the time) and Romanian silver medalist. Without the Soviet Union (who boycotted the Games), America and Romania just had the most marvelous time, skipping around the arena, snatching medals off the judge's tables as they went. I imagine it as sort of like a house party the kids have while the stern older parents are away. We were sorta kinda nice though and reluctantly shared the bars title with China, though.

1988 (Seoul, South Korea) - Daniela Silivas, Romania - Okay, if I'd had my way, Daniela would definitely be the Olympic champion. Such grace, such power, such originality! But alas, it was not to be. Elena Shushunova got it, and while I like her too, Silivas is just what I look for in a gymnast, so I can't help but like her more. The scoring at this point was, I think, vastly inflated in favor of the Soviets, because Daniela won bars, beam, and floor, plus got a bronze vault medal, but didn't win? Meanwhile somehow Elena gets a silver and bronze and the judges go, "Okey-dokey, here's our Olympic champion!" That just doesn't add up. Ah, well.

1992 (Barcelona, Spain) - Shannon Miller, USA - Much as I love Shannon, Tatiana's story is just too awesome. Yes, I'm American, and we are massive suckers for the underdog, even if it means we get second. For those of you who don't know, Tatiana was originally an alternate for the AA, but got to go and went on to beat Shannon by only .012 of a point. It was pretty cool to see a relatively unknown gymnast go on to win. A Cinderella story, I think.

1996 (Atlanta, Georgia, USA) - Gina Gogean, Romania - These games are special in a couple of ways. First, we finally get to see more flags on the podium than Russia and Romania. Ukraine joins the mix, with the "Queen of Half Turns" (as I call her in my head), Lilia Podkopayeva taking the gold. Seriously, this girl did half turns like they were going out of style. She looked awesome doing it, however. Also, this was the last year for compulsories at the Olympics. Compulsories are great for basic skills, but time-consuming for a major competition like the Olympics. As for Gina, I don't know much about her, but I'm not going to skip 1996 just because I don't know much about the gymnast! What kind of blogger do you think I am?

2000 (Sydney, Australia) - Maria Olaru, Romania [official] Simona Amanar, Romania [disputed] - I frown upon the Sydney Games. The vault was set too low, the commentator (at least in the coverage I watched) kept calling a gymnast by the wrong name or it would show up wrong on the footage, and Andreea Raducan was stripped of her AA gold over cold medicine, for goodness sake! To add insult to injury, the substance Andreea was given (pseudoephedrine) is no longer banned! If the scandal had never happened, the order would have gone: Andreea Raducan, Simona Amanar, and Maria Olaru. As it officially stands, Amanar has gold, Olaru takes silver, and Liu Xuan of China has bronze.

2004 (Athens, Greece) - Svetlana Khorkina, Russia - Ah, Svetlana Khorkina. Also known as "Queen Khorky" by renowned gymnastics blogger The Couch Gymnast or simply "The Queen," it's hard to believe this she has never won an AA gold, despite being in three separate Olympics. The twice-over World Champion and five-time World gold medalist on bars is beloved the world over for her elegant gymnastics and spunky personality. I must admit, I didn't like her at first (my house is probably going to be egged tonight for saying that), but she has definitely grown on me. Even when I didn't like her, I knew her prowess on the uneven bars, but just never liked her lack of height and the fact that she is stick-thin. I prefer a little meat on a gymnast's bones. Every time she landed a tumbling pass, I expected to hear her femur snap clean in half. But she deserved it. Way to go, Svetlana! You are missed in your retirement!

2008 (Beijing, China) - Shawn Johnson, USA - Now, who could forget this friendly rivalry between Shawn and teammate and gold medalist Nastia Liukin? Everyone knew they would mount the podium, but no one was sure in what order. Shawn qualified for event finals in floor exercise, and seemed to be getting her gold that way, but was edged out by Sandra Izbasa of Romania. She settled for silver again. Finally, in the beam final, being the last gymnast to go (oh, the drama!), she nailed her extremely high difficulty beam routine and got her long-awaited gold. She has since officially retired and will not try for another Olympic games, but she was said to be by an announcer, "the kid [who] does not know how to lose!" As a Junior elite, she was two-time National Junior Champion, won the Pan American Games and the Pacific Alliance Championships. Her Senior debut was announced with a win at the American Cup, another Pan American Games and American Cup. She was Senior National Champion twice, World Champion and a World medalist on floor. For heaven's sake, she won the Olympic Trials! Yet she never lost that down-to-Earth attitude and bright grin. She also attended public school while training, something almost unheard of in elite gymnastics. "Gymnastics is kind of like a candy for her; you know, she can never get enough of it," said her coach Al Fong. And while you were here, Shawn, we gym fans couldn't get enough of you! We miss you!