Sunday, July 28, 1996

UCLA could lose gymnast to millions in endorsements

By Melissa Anderson

Summer Bruin Staff

Olga. Nadia. Mary Lou. Kerri.

Kerri?

In women's gymnastics, the legends are known solely by their first names, and though Kerri Strug is not yet a legend, her heroics last Tuesday night in the Olympic team competition have set her well on her way.

Strug vaulted out of the shadows of teammates Shannon Miller and Dominique Moceanu to lead the United States to its first Olympic team gold medal. And she did it all on just one leg.

After Moceanu took a seat on both of her vaults, it was up to Strug to get the big score to clinch the title. But following in Moceanu's wake, Strug sat down her first attempt as well, and stood up visibly injured.

What followed has become one of the defining moments of the Atlanta Games. Strug, fighting off the pain of what was later learned to be a severely sprained left ankle, landed her second vault on one foot, earning a 9.712 and clinching the gold for the Americans.

The 18-year-old Strug is committed to enter UCLA in the fall, perhaps as the missing link to a team which finished a surprising second at last year's NCAA Championships. But with a professional post-Olympics tour and endorsement offers in the wings, the pressure has been put on Strug to forgo her NCAA eligibility and join her teammates on the road.

"When you just look at the facts, anyone would take the endorsement money, especially when you're talking about millions of dollars," UCLA head coach Valorie Kondos said.

"If it was hundreds of thousands of dollars, she wouldn't take it because Kerri's dream has always been to compete on a collegiate team and to win a national championship."

"That's not much when you compare it to Olympic gold, but Kerri has never trained with a team. She's never had that real team sense. She's lived away from home since she was 12 years old, and she's looking for a very secure family program. That is what is being weighed against millions of dollars."

Immediately following the competition, Strug said she had no intention of going pro, citing the importance of an education and a desire to "get on with her life" after gymnastics.

"For a lot of girls, it seems, after the Olympics they feel lost," Strug told the Los Angeles Times Tuesday night. "That's it ­ it's over for them. If they don't hit it big like Mary Lou (Retton), they feel a little bit lost."

"I'm going to ease out of it. Go to college, still do a little, but also prepare for the future."

The future may be now for Strug.

Though she had made no official decision, USA Gymnastics and TicketMaster have already begun advertising the 1996 Tour of John Hancock World Gymnastics Champions featuring, among others, Kerri Strug.

Should Strug decide to take the money, her competitive gymnastics career will come to a virtual end, a factor which Kondos feels will weigh heavily into the decision of her No. 1 recruit.

"I told her if it is in fact the dollars, becoming a millionaire overnight that is attractive, then there is no decision to be made," Kondos said.

"But along with that decision comes the fact that (she) will be retired. Our sport is not like track and field or basketball where you are at your peak in your 20s or early 30s. This is her peak. If she takes these endorsement offers, she will be retired."

"I asked her last night, 'Are you ready to retire?' and she said, 'No, I'm not.' So, we'll see."

DAVE BLACK

Despite injuring her ankle, Kerri Strug finished her second vault to win the United States its first Olympic team gold medal.