1996 John Hancock Tour of World Gymnastics Champions


Written Summer 2000 © Stephanie Schneider

Location: Civic Arena (Pittsburgh, PA)
Date: Fall 1996 (I'm not sure of our exact date.)

By this time, I had become much more of a gym fan, and I actually knew all of the gymnasts that were at the tour. This was my first real experience in seeing some of my favorite gymnasts live, so needless to say, I was very excited. I went with my mom, my cousin, and a few of my other relatives. I remember walking into the arena and just being in awe. I had seen gymnastics on tv so many times, but, let me tell you, the first time you see elite gymnastics in person, it’s just the most amazing thing. It’s like what you’re used to seeing on tv come to life. The first person I remember seeing was Dominique Dawes warming up punch fronts on beam. Then I remember seeing Shannon Miller and Dominique Moceanu, and I just couldn’t believe they were standing right in front of me! It was very surreal. I remember being amazed by the warm-ups that the gymnasts were doing!

It was a really good show; all of the Mag 7 (minus Kerri Strug) and members of the 96 men’s Olympic team were there. Jessica Davis, the rhythmic national champion at the time was there too, and I remember being so amazed by her. But, more than anything, I was so excited when I saw Lilia Podkopayeva! I hadn’t known she was going to be there, so needless to say, it was a very special surprise. We were in the 2nd row, so I had a great view of everything. I took about two rolls of film from my seat (I didn’t even think to go around the gym or anything). We were right in front of the beam, so all of the ones from there came out great, but other than that, they weren’t the greatest. I got a great one of Moceanu standing about two feet from me though; I put that one in a frame as soon as I got it developed.

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