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    Kerri Strug's Unforgettable Determination to Win Gymnastics Olympic Gold | Strangest Moments
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    Kerri Strug’s Unforgettable Determination to Win Gymnastics Olympic Gold | Strangest Moments



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    Team USA’s Kerri Strug became a national hero in 1996, not just for her gymnastics skills but her sheer determination in the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Team Event.

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    View 41 Comments

    41 Comments

    1. toyamwarr on

      Looking back at this, it’s crazy how much the US has changed in the last 25 years in terms of mental health and athleticism. Back then Strung would have been looked down on for not playing through the pain; pushing herself to win despite never competing again was the brave thing to do. Now expecting an athlete to continue playing on a leg they know is injured would be irresponsible for everyone involved including the athlete.

    2. SnFanForever on

      Sorry, but the whole incident was blown out of proportions, and made into more than what it was: the media simply distorted it (surprise, surprise). The fact is that Moceanu didn't almost lose the gold for team USA: she simply failed to clinch it (there is a difference). And Kerri would not have been injured, had she not buckled under the pressure and sat down her first vault: she essentially created a hole for herself. As Shannon put it, the second vault was essentially a double-edged sword, because Kerri needed the score in order to secure a place for herself in the all-around finals; but performing it exacerbated the injury resulting from sitting her first vault — thereby forcing her to withdraw from the said finals. THAT was what was really at stake: a berth in the all-around — something that had doggedly eluded Kerri for years. Consider Barcelona, where she and Kim Zmeskal battled for the third spot (back in those days, three per country were allowed); history repeated itself in Atlanta, where she was battling Moceanu for the third spot. The team gold medal was not really at stake, since the Russians would basically have had to score perfect 10's on their remaining floor routines, in order to take the gold away from the Americans.

    3. purple cosmos on

      Watching this as someone who wasn't even born at the time- was it not obvious to everyone what cost the American team performed at? Every single girl the camera lands on seems to be in acute psychological distress. Their necks and shoulders are rigid, their lips are white, and they keep on crying. Kerri's face when she ran for the vault wasn't a beautiful moment, it was a girl in acute pain. Again- her lips were white, her face was rigid, and her eyes were just desperate. Why did everyone watch this and act like it was all beautiful and inspiring?? They were kids, almost little girls some of them, and I just want to give them a hug and tell them they don't have to do this.
      The physical prowess and determination? Amazing! The psychological agony? Not cool.

    5. Natalia Petrosjan on

      О спорт,ты сила – какими усилиями, какими трудами даются те победы…устояла,на одной ноге! Но устояла – молодчина!

    8. Ashley Churchill on

      The narrative in this video suggests that Kerri Strug actually had a choice to do the second vault. She did not. She HAD to do the second vault if she wanted any career in gymnastics after the 1996 games.

    10. SaraScreams on

      Stop telling her story as if she was a hero. She suffered a horrible injury because she was not listened to by her coach who should be thinking about her safety.

    11. Andy W on

      "'I can't feel my leg,' Strug told Karolyi.
      'We got to go one more time,' Karolyi said. 'Shake it out.'
      'Do I have to do this again?' Strug asked. 'Can you, can you?' Karolyi wanted to know.
      'I don't know yet,' said Strug. 'I will do it. I will, I will.'"

      "Unforgettable Determination" eh?

    20. lee randolph on

      I was 26 when this happened and I remember this a little differently. I will probably get a lot of negative reaction to this comment. Before she hurt herself, she had done nothing but let her team down. There would have been no need for her "heroics" if she had competed well. She had done nothing, but fail that whole competition and she was sort of known for this type of performance. She was to be Bella Carollis final student so everyone blaming him need to realize he was leaving the sport. It came out shortly after this some of the comments she made on air were a little like what Prince Harry is doing now. The only sports I loved/liked at this time were figure skating and gymnastics. Shannon Miller and the other girls on the team had been carrying her up to this vault. Now she is the hero, baloney.

    21. Kroko Mez on

      I can't imagine doing such a thing that takes full pressure on both legs with a broken ankle. It's like taking a hammer and pounding the injured bone as hard as you can.

    24. F Joseph Gonzales on

      Thank you for posting, but to the narrator: Please stop putting "had" in front of verbs that are ALREADY in past tense. Example: In the phrase "…Strug had secured her place…," "had" is not necessary. It should be "…Strug secured her place…"

    25. BopBop on

      Ever since I’ve watched the vid of kirri strug and how she snapped 2 ligaments on her way down , I always cringe when I see gymnasts land, even though Ik the circumstances are different it still makes me so uncomfortable 😭😭😭

    31. Professor Worm on

      They always gloss over Domonique as a footnote. She was the best gymnast of her era, who literally put the US team in a position to win or lose on the vault. Her floor and beam performances were absolutely brilliant, involving skills that young women are still afraid to risk to this day.
      Strug is a hero, not taking that away from her. But put some respect Moceanu's name.
      They're the closest thing we have to superheroes. They do what humans can't do.
      Pay them. Men and women both, stop treating them like they should be grateful to be allowed to compete. Pay them. At every level in every nation. Pay them.

    37. Amadeus on

      The narrator expresses ‘physical demands’ as if this suggests ‘physical abuse’ rather than clarifying the necessity for rigorous Olympic athletic training 😅

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