At the world championships in Paris, Kim Zmeskal won the gold medal for her performance. Her coach Bela Karolyi says it is her “most superior event,” the one where Kim displays her personality. “Everywhere else she’s all business, but here she looks like she’s having a good time,” says Mary Lou Retton, who won a bronze medal in this event to go with her gold in the All-Around at the 1984 L.A. Games. Zmeskal, who says she loves to dance and perform, is almost bubbly as she cavorts around the mat to “Rock Around the Clock” and “Johnny B. Goode.” “It’s like a show,” she says. “It’s just me and the routine.” Karolyi, responding to critics, has made this routine more difficult. “There is nothing to compare with it, nothing to approach it,” he gushes. It features three corner-to-corner somersaulting runs. The highlight comes about midway with Kim’s signature triple whip back-three consecutive back flips during which her hands never touch the floor.
