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sunshine jen: Stick the Landing
Now on balance beam, representing the United States, Sunshine Jen.
--The level of difficulty on her routine is out of a ten point o. She flies across the beam.
--I saw her in practice and she looked ready. What she has to do now is just focus and be perfect.
--She has to line up with the beam perfectly, and. . .oh wow.
--Amazing.
--Backhandspring, Backhandspring, Roundoff. Right into a series of backflips. Flawless.
--And here comes her specialty---she calls it Love the Beam. She is both over and now under the beam.
--Such strength and control.
--She has that look in her eye. We've seen that intensity and focus in practice.
--Backhandspring into an Arabian.
--No little steps.
--She did it! She stuck the landing! Sunshine Jen has stuck the landing!
--Wow.
--She was not going to move those feet at all.
--So much has been said about her age----thirty. And her height---5'8". So much has been said about her struggles with Vertigo, how hard it is for her to balance or to be upside down or to perform in front of people. But Sunshine Jen put down all her demons and she just gave the performance of lifetime.
--And the crowd is chanting ten! ten! ten!
--Wow.
--Looking again at the dismount. She is so strong and so tall---look at the height she gets and she times it perfectly. She knows when she hits the floor that she did it.
--9.967! Sunshine Jen's won the gold!
--I think she just shouted the F word.
--She's definitely in shock.
--We are witnessing the beginning of a whole new era in women's gymnastics.
--This is definitely historic.
--Oh, I think it's hitting her now.
--And now she's hugging her coach. What began as an experiment has now become Olympic gold.
--She said she was gonna go all or nothing. Well, she went for all today and goes home with gold. Our own Elfie is down on the floor with her now.
--Sunshine Jen, you came here as an experiment and walked away with gold. How does it feel?
-- Woohoooo! I just wanna say that this is for my family and my friends and my coaches and my country and my people. Go John Kerry!
--Let's talk about your routine. From the very beginning, you seemed focused. . .
--Just like John Kerry---focused on the work at hand.
--And the dismount was just spectacular.
--I knew I had to end strong---just like Kerry in November.
--What was going through your head when you saw the score?
--Oh F(bleep)! This is really F(bleep)ing amazing. Just like K. . . .
--Back to you, Al and Tim.
--So not only a great gymnast but someone with strong political opinions.
--And a colorful vocabulary.
--Let's look at the dismount again. Look at the height off the beam and the blind landing. Perfect!
--She came into this competition as a long shot and an experiment, but she walked away a historic champion.
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