Kerri Strug

Remembering Kerri Strug's vault into the spotlight (on a bad ankle) at the 1996 Summer Games

Strug's historic second vault on an already injured ankle became perhaps the defining moment of the 1996 Summer Games.

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It may seem strange in retrospect, but Kerri Strug went to the 1996 Summer Olympics.

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"You'll never see Kerri in a Wheaties box," her coach, Bela Kerolyi, told the Houston Chronicle in July 1996.

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"She always has been the bridesmaid, never the bride," said 1984 gymnastics gold medalist Mary Lou Retton.

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Strug said he doesn't remember his first vault, only the sound of his left ankle giving way on the landing.

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Strug performed her second vault and heard another snap from her ankle as she landed on both feet.

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It turned out to be one of the best moments of the 1996 Games

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Kérolyi and her teammates carried her off the floor while the Georgia Dome’s 30,000-strong crowd chanted her name

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She refused to be taken away for X-rays, saying she wanted to be with her teammates when they received the gold.

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Kérolyi picked her up again and carried her to the podium, where her teammates helped her stand and accept the gold.

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Kérolyi believes Strug's performance helped change the perception of gymnasts in the national eye.

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