Wendy Bruce speaks on 1992 Olympic Team Selection involving Kim Kelly
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- čas přidán 28. 08. 2024
- For the first time, Wendy Bruce shares HER SIDE of the 1992 Olympic Team Selection. Since 1992, the media would have you believe that Wendy Bruce "stole" Kim Kelly's spot on the 1992 Olympic Team.Podcast host, Nicole Langevin, is the first one to actually ask, "What REALLY happened?"
This episode aired April 18, 2021 and is THE FIRST TIME Wendy has discussed this situation.
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Kim kelly once said herself "What was the point of even having an Olympic trials if they were just going to pick who they wanted?" And technically she's right. I appreciate that Wendy Bruce was honest and said that Kim Kelly had done better than her and said she got a lucky vote.
Kim certainly has a point, but I think that all sports federations are required to hold some sort of Trials or a Nationals for Olympic team selection.
I believe Wendy made the team as an alternate who replaced the injured Michelle Campi. The person who actually replaced Kim Kelly was Betty Okino, who had missed both the Nationals and the trials because of an injury.
@@JLFAN2009 - I think the issue is why/how did Wendy end up anywhere in front of Kim ... I say it was Bela's bias.
@@gorrillagardening3692 You're misunderstanding: my point is that Michelle was the one who originally made the team, but had to pull out at the last minute because of an injury. Wendy didn't even make the team; in particular, she was not hand-picked by the coaches. Rather, she simply got *lucky* through somebody else's misfortune: ironically, had Kim Kelly been named as an alternate, she might have had a better chance of being on the team.
@@JLFAN2009 - Both Okino and Campi petitioned into the Olympic training squad ... both Kelly and Bruce competed to get there (placing 5th & 6th). There wasn't a format of "making the team" - it was a selection process (except for the top athletes). A healthy Okino was always going to make the team and Campi had the look/style Bela liked and had proven herself in '91 (great start off routines). So in selection, Okino and Campi both knock Kim and Bruce out of the top 5 athletes. So now it's up to selecting the 6th athlete for alternate ... That's where the only issue (to me) really appears - Bela selects Bruce over Kelly when Kelly had "beat" Bruce in the qualifier. My opinion is that Bruce's gymnastics and aesthetics held more appeal to Bela (thinking of International judges) - and perhaps had more potential to score well on certain events. I don't know what logic Kelly is using to be mad about Okino ... I could understand being mad about Bruce.
I agree that Wendy was underscored on compulsory bars and floor. I appreciate hearing her speak honestly about her gymnastics limitations, I just wish someone would finally speak honestly about Kim Kelly's limitations. You can say it was unfair because of her placement at trials but I don't think you can say that the gymnasts who replaced her weren't better for the team.
No gymnast "stile" a spot over another. Let's be clear - it was the Bela and Martha show - the coaches and officials are to blame, not a young gymnast
Wendy was underscored in some of her routines. I've always felt that back in those days when you are the 1st or 2nd in the line-up, your scores are usually lower and the judges then build on that. And even though that it shouldn't have been a factor, I do believe back then that those that were more well known did garner bigger scores from the judges. Really felt for Kim, but so glad that Wendy did make the team and took home a medal. Really enjoyed the interview. Thanks!
Thank you, James! So glad you enjoyed it. If you're not listening to the show, I think you will love the other interviews!
What's interesting is that recently KZB posted a "Happy Birthday" to Betty on KZB's FB and in the comments Kim Kelly said she was "in therapy 30 years later because she is still upset that BETTY STOLE her spot on the Olympic Team.". Like, Sis....Betty didn't steal something that wasn't yours and it was completely inappropriate on a BIRTHDAY post to post that nonsense. Did Kim get screwed? Yeah. So did Hilary Grivich. I was really disappointed in that comment that Betty stole it from her as if Betty had control of the situation.
Also, it was very unlikely that Kelly would have made it into the AA finals like Betty did.
That's awful. How the heck does Kim get off blaming Betty for what the adult coaches decided?? This just makes me even more glad that Kelly and her horribly inconsistent gymnastics never made it to the Olympic stage!
Wow this is really interesting. Betty was my favorite in this quad and was IMO one of the most naturally talented gymnasts with so much grace and like a lot of Americans at the time, chronically underscored. 🙏
I didn't agree with that either yes Kim Kelly got screwed but it wasn't Betty's fault. Wendy Bruce even said herself that in the end Bela was the one who picked the team.
@jennifersmith314 Just to clarify one portion of your post, your quote isn't 100% accurate as Kim Kelly never used the word "therapy". The exact quote was ""30 years later...Im still healing but I will say happy birthday Betty even if I didn't even really know her. It wasn't her fault but she took my spot on the Olympic team without even competing all of 1992...🤔"
Wendy’s vault was so good.
Also: I can’t imagine being Kim Kelly and training with Bill and Donna up to 1992.
Wendy is one of my favorite gymnasts. Her floor routine was excellent. Nice to hear this after all of this years!
The right team was chosen. Kim Kelly did not have a record of hitting under pressure in multiple international competitions.
They were both really talented! Was very upsetting at the time but Wendy was a great addition to the team. Also shout out to Betty Okino for still owning the most beautiful and impressive skill on beam. Will we ever see a consistent triple twist? Should an F skill for sure.
I was always a huge fan of Wendy's. I was so happy that she made the Olympic team. Considering Kelly's recent remarks I'm glad that she didn't make the squad! She has no right to blame Betty Okino, claiming that Betty 'stole' her spot! That was the coaches who made that decision!
I loved Wendy's gymnastics so much. 💪🏼🤸🏻♂
They could had taken both Kim Kelly and Wendy Bruce to the Olympics instead of making Michelle Campi the alternate (6 competing with 1 on standby). Campi kept injuring herself at nationals, missed the trials, then again at the second closed door trials, and then at training camp in France. She should had been kick off the selection team and had Wendy and Kim be the decisions of who would be #6 and #7
yes Campi being there was just ridiculous. She was too injured to do simple handspring at that point, lol!
The right gymnasts competed in 1992. But I think Kim Kelly deserved the alternate position.
Do you want to know true backstabbing evil that year in Olympic gymnastics?
What the Russian team did to Rosa Galyeva to get their European champion (Gutsu) in the AA finals. She fell off of her mount on beam. She should have suffered the same fate as Kim Zemeskel. Rosa EARNED that spot, hands down, and they took it away from her. That just broke my heart.
Roza is one of the most nasty pieces ever seen in the sport. She even accused her teammates of poisining her at 92 event worlds. Her crappy attitude was on display in 96 Atlanta Olympics where despite being drastically overrated by the coaches and put in anchor roles on the team over much superior gymnasts like Kochetkova and Khorkina (even before prime Khorkina) she did not deserve, she still messed up, and had a sour, sore loser attitude about it the whole time. I could never feel less sorry for someone being replaced than her. Also even with her fall on beam Gutsu was only 0.038 behind her. If Galieva did not get ridiculously overscored on some routines like optional beam (9.912, when she deserved 9.85 at best) or compulsory floor (she scored almost 9.9 when it was a horse clomping routine that deserved like a 9.7) she never makes it over Gutsu even with her fall.
Also Zmeskal did make the AA final, despite also falling, and despite posting a lower score than Gutsu who also fell, so if you are comparing them Gutsu should have been in the AA final as well.
I have always thought Wendy should've been UB finalist in '92.
I thought Wendy really rose to the moment! I had the triple cast and I swear Wendy's optional floor routine (team) was the one American routine they missed - I was so mad!!! Am I wrong??? ... I remember hearing the music in the background even ...???
Yeah, I've never seen footage of Wendy's optional floor in Barcelona... I believe her music could be heard while Maria Neculita was shown (on NBC) vaulting for Romania.
It was wrong what happened to Kim Kelly. But if I had to speculate-it had to do with her body. Her body had filled out, it was very developed especially for that time. The truth is she wouldn’t have scored well internationally.
That's not what I remember. I remember that she was replaced by an injured gymnast, Okino.
I think putting Wendy on the team was the right call, however they did it in the worst way possible to screw Kim Kelly. They should've made it clear in terms of how many people they will take considering the petitions and look at how they scored internationally overall. And I agree, that 9.600 for her floor was ridiculous, she was lowballed so much because she doesn't have a reputation like Kim Zmeskal or Betty Okino
She stepped out of bounds twice I believe, at least once for sure.
I’ve been a movement judge for Winter Guard International (WGI) and I’m a former gymnast, so I’m seeing this from many sides. For the team that went, Wendy’s and Dominique’s scores would not have changed because they were the first up. That’s just plain strategy from the coaches. Judges aren’t going to give the big, true numbers to the starters. In numbers management, you have to give what is “fair”, but not was is correct. They have to leave room for the anchors on the team that they knew were going to be in the top tier. It came down on their faces when Kim Zemeskel fell on beam and they had to count the Dawes score.
I agree with Wendy that If you watch her performances, and ONLY her performances, the scores are too low. The same could be said about each gymnast.
If you want to see a striking misjudgment, compare the vaults of Shannon Miller and Tatiana Gutsu. Exact same vault, but Tatiana’s form was bent during the flight. Not Shannon, her air time was so amazing I screamed! The only give away… maybe… is she saluted to quick, giving the impression that she over rotated and was trying to do a quick cover up. Regardless, Shannon’s was the superior vault and should have won gold.
One score I knew was wrong but was going to happen was Betty Okino’s compulsory floor score. It was too high, but scores were escalating and there was no turning back from the rate and rank system.
And I’m sorry. maybe I’ve judged for way too long, but there was no way Boginskiya’s dance was better than Miller’s dance on floor. No way. No how. And Bogie was fighting gravity when it came to her tumbling and didn’t (couldn’t) have the higher vocabulary compared to Shannon, so they said she danced better. B.S.!!! Shannon had more of a range and more depth in her dynamic efforts (space, time, weight, flow) than the variety of bound efforts from Bogie. AND Shannon landed her passes in an open third (maybe too open), but Bogie landed everything on each apparatus in third and called it her “trademark”. B.S.!!! If that could be considered a trademark, then Shannon’s open third was her trademark and she did it with just as much consistency.
But what do I know. I’ve only done this since 1974. I’m old, so sue me! THANKS FOR LETTING ME VENT! I feel much better now. 🙃
The judging system of winter guard is a hot mess and has been for years. Fantasia getting a 99.5 in 08 with someone dropping a simple turnaround. There is absolutely no consistency with the judges it’s all politics. If u have been judging since 74, then retire please.
Nicole, I have had a question burning in my head for Wendy forever and maybe you know the answer or can ask her for me. Did Wendy have a second competition ready vault prepared in 1992? She almost made the vault final. Kim and Shannon clearly did not have a second vault ready to go for vault finals. Was there any discussion of her taking one of the other’s spot?
Wendy told this story in her Gymcastic interview as well.
Correct. However this is the first time she spoke about it as the episode aired April 18, 2021.
I haven't seen that. Do you know where I can find that at?
Here are links to the show. I truly hope you enjoy it!
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@@jamesr2164 she keeps deleting my comments with the link to Gymcastic episode which was in 2016. Gymcastic just re-released it following Wendy's appointment as Dutch Head Coach so it should ve easy to find.
I watched Wendy the whole 1989 season and I'll have to agree. Her bars were on the same level as the best in the world imo. Her reverse hect and straddled front on the high bar were so high! The amplitude was crazy. Her beam was ehh ok but not world class. Her vault was amazing. She did her full twisting layed out yurchenko and even put the flare in the end where she arched her back the same as Kim Zmeskal. Wendy was def underscored on vault. Her floor was great, she had a sky high full in to start, however, I think her stamina was an issue that particular year as she did a double back middle pass which she added a whip a lil later, but then she finished with a double full. Good routine but but medal challenge worthy. She eventually ended with a double back but I think it was to late. She did do a double layout in 90 with a great routine with Abba music 😍😍. Love Wendy! I will always appreciate her helping me thru my teen years back then. I'm a year younger than her. I still have the VHS tapes somewhere in the attic lol
At that time for whatever reason EVERYONE (in gymnastics world) hated PARKETTES!!!!
I’m a little confused because how could have thought she and Kim Kelly made the team with one spot being between Michelle Campi and Betty Okino when without Campi/Okino, all six slots were taken up. If Campi/Okino were still in the mix to make the team that meant slots 5-6 were up for grabs aka Campi and Kim Kelly’s slots at Trials. Bruce was 7th meaning that one of the two spots was also open to her as opposed to one spot only open to Kelly, Okino, and Campi. Unless the team meant 7 with one gymnast being an alternate and Kelly was completely cut off from consideration even from being an alternate. Was that what happened?
That’s exactly what happened. Bruce was the alternate, Michele Campi got injured/ didn’t recover, Bruce took the spot.
@@felipef8567 was Kim not even the alternate in the end then?
@nicksline eight gymnasts competed at the fake trial. They named six team members and one alternate, and sent one girl home with nothing. Kim is the one who went home with nothing.
@@felipef8567 Because Kelly beat Bruce soundly at both Nationals and Trials she should have been over her in any hypothetical picking of spots, despite that I prefer Bruce's gymnastics. Atleast by the standards the USFSA led all the gymnasts to believe at the time. Campi also never should have been put on the team, she was far too injured to even walk a full day, never mind compete, so giving her a spot, when she knew she would be WD was pointless and stupid. Okino I can get and even agreed with, not Campi.
@@wendyw651 They also knew what they were going to do even before the fake trial. I hear Bruce (who already lost to Kelly at both Nationals and Trials) fell on beam AGAIN at the fake trial, was Campi was so injured she didn't finish her floor routine and stopped her vault before even going, LOL! Dawes also had a nightmarish fake trial with a couple falls. Kelly according to her and her coaches had the meet of her life at the fake Trials. They knew Kelly was the one who was being bumped regardless.
I'm a little confused, Betty and Michelle weren't competing against each other for another spot - if both had qualified, then Kim AND Wendy would have been off the team right?
From Wendy's description it sound like if only one had been added, Kim would have stayed on the team, which isn't what happened.
If both Okino and Campi qualified, then one of Bruce/Kelly would be named alternate and the other would be off the team entirely... Which is what happened: Bruce was made the alternate and Kelly was left off. (I don't know why they didn't name Kelly as a second alternate, maybe there was no provision for that at those Olympics?) Campi ended up getting injured just prior to the Olympics, so then Bruce was added to the team.
@@ronaround74 Campi being named at all was dumb. She was badly injured, and didnt have the resume to justify just giving a spot without competing at Trials anyway.
I’m going to say this again because it needs to be said
We can debate whether or not Kim Kelly deserved to be on the team until we all turn blue. But it’s all moot, what’s done is done.
I think it’s safe to say that the way they handled it was particularly heinous. It was abundantly clear that Betty Okino was going to petition onto the team and someone had to be cut. They shouldn’t have put her up on a podium and introduced her as an Olympian only to humiliate her on the world’s largest stage weeks later. And USAG KNEW it was wrong and awful because four years later when Shannon Miller and Dominique Moceanu were injured during Olympic trials they were ABUNDANTLY clear that they were holding the door for Miller and Moceanu, they’re only taking five of them, if anything changes they’ll let them know.
I try not to imagine what it must have been like for Kim Kelly to work your whole life to achieve a certain goal only to get it and have it arbitrarily taken away. That’s got to suck SO BAD. Also why not take her as a second alternate? They did with Kristie Phillips.
I wish Wendy would comment on why her optional floor routine was so low. There is not a clear routine of it and it seems she stepped out maybe 2 times??
She absolutely will just wait until she catches this…
They should've picked Kim over Brandy,i just couldn't stand her for some reason 🤔🤨
Did Wendy mean Daniela Silivas was at the 1992 olympics?
She was thinking of 1989 where Silivas competed the same compulsory routines as in 1992
Wendy got a 9.75 on compulsory floor, not a 9.6. Still underscored, but it wasn't a 9.6.
Kim Kelly absolutely deserved to go and it was nothing more than political. She proved that in the Olympic Trials. Why even have an Olympic Trials if you aren't even going to go by the Trial Scores? It was pathetic.
If we're honest though, Kim would have been killed by international judges.
Betty clearly deserved to go as she made AA finals.
Wendy's gymnastics was a LOT cleaner than Kim's. Wendy was actually pretty criminally underscored at the Olympics because she went early in compulsiries and was leadoff in a lot of optionals.
Wendy and Betty were the right choices for the team, but the way they went about it was super shady.
@@nicksline Just your opinion and I respectfully do not agree. Your wording of "deserved" is an opinion. Yes, I believe Betty Okino was stronger then these other gymnasts, but petitioning doesn't make it right. It is unfortunate she was injured during the time of the trials, but I still believe that you have to do what is fair to all. That would mean that those selected would come out of their scores from an Olympic trials competition. Someone like Okino could have easily been injured at the time of the Olympics and then there would be no question. All these gymnasts have worked hard their whole lives for this shot and those Olympic berths should be given based on scores from an established competition. The Olympics were based on friendship and the emerging international society, not how many medals are won. Look, I equally like gymnast Wendy Bruce, but Wendy truly got in due to politics. In fact that secret competition they had after the trials was at Kevin and Rita Brown's gym, her coaches. Certainly that had something to do with it. In a perfect world, there should never be an Olympic committee, where certain individuals hold all the power on who stays and who goes. It should come down to an Olympic trials. Other sports do it fairly, like track and field. There have been incidents where the top athletes go injured during the time of trials and unfortunately didn't go to the Olympics and that is life. But it is fair.
@@pappysprite I don't think you get it
@@nicksline that doesn’t matter. They held Olympic trials. Kelly met the criteria. Coaches were mad so they changed the rules. It’s not Bruce’s fault, but I don’t blame Kelly. The Olympics are every elite athletes’ dream. Only a handful out of the couple hundred elites ever end up actually going. I’d be bitter too. Better to make mistakes and miss the team that way than be voted off due to popularity garbage.
@@kiersontitus7322 I think she got it exactly. Perhaps you’re the one who doesn’t.
The 1992 Olympics really made me fall out of love with gymnastics.