ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Here are Martha Karolyi's responses to reporters' questions on the floor after the U.S. Championships ended:
On Rebecca Bross's vault:
"Well, I really honestly I don't think this was a mental issue. I think she just landed a little bit short, did not complete her full twisting, and the leg was in the wrong position in the moment of the landing. That's what happens, you know...injuries happen. Gymnastics is very hard at this point. We are permanently taking a risk, and we have to do that if we are fighting for a place on the podium."
On how she felt about overall performances on night two as compared to prelims:
"Oh, I think I was very pleased all the way until Rebecca's fall in the competition. I think everybody was in a much better place mentally. The coaching? was much higher, but after that fall, like, something happened! Here comes Raisman on the beam and wobbles all the way. You know sometimes yes, it takes an impact on the whole team when one of the team member goes down so I could see that, but I hope we are able to fight ourselves out. It's not the first time we have been in a difficult situation. It's fighting!"
On Chellsie Memmel's fall on bars and whether she was injured:
"I don't know at this time. I'm hoping that her injury is minor and hopefully she will be back. We don't know much more because anytime something happens it needs to be checked out, and based on the video...Chellsie's shoulder I think popped out and then popped back. So actually we had Elise Ray in 2000 Olympic Games and she kept competing. So hopefully it's something like that." (Note: Memmel herself said afterward that her shoulder did not pop out, but she felt some rotation in her shoulder after attempting the pirouette the second time and made the decision with her coach/father not to complete the routine).
On Jordyn Wieber:
"Jordyn proved herself. She is a strong person physically and mentally. And just like I said I would be very surprised if she would not perform well at this Championships, and I was right. It was a very good performance."
On uncertainty going into the World Championships:
"You know what? I am not a person who freaks out in hard situations, and it's not the first time in my coaching career, so we will do the very best that is possible in a tough situation."
On McKayla Maroney:
"I was happy that she got back mentally to the McKayla that I saw in the meet in the spring in Italy, and she did a great performance. Very proud of her. Very promising."
On whether Maroney has a shot at the World team:
"I think so."
On whether she learned anything new about Wieber in this competition:
"Not really. Because I just said in the interviews before the meet that I have my trust in Jordyn. So she proved that. I know Jordyn as a very strong gymnast skill-wise and mentally very successful. When she upset the reigning World champion in the spring, I was pretty sure she was able to perform well in this meet. And she proved me right."
On Wieber's chances of winning a World medal:
"Well. The chances are there. They are definitely there. You never know in this world what will be happening, but she is definitely an extremely strong competitor for that medal."
On the U.S. vault prospects:
"Vault? We seem to be improving on vault at this moment. We raised our start values and like in anything, you do steps before you run. So that's where you are. We're doing the steps."
On whether she might have thought about having Bross water down her vault:
"Yeah, I don't think it would be a case to water down her vault. She has competed this vault for four or five years now. It's not like it's something she doesn't know how to do. But certainly mentally she wasn't as tough during this whole competition as she used to be before."
On why she thinks Bross looked so unprepared for this meet:
"I don't know. Sometimes the girls go through these stages. A child becomes an adult and they think much more. when you are younger, you just do it and you think you always can. And then it comes when you question yourself a little bit but then you go through that stage and again you become much more mature and again you grab a handle on everything and your confidence comes back. But this year that is what we are beginning to see signs of in Rebecca."
On Shawn Johnson's hit performances:
"Well, I think that Shawn proved that she is a good competitor. Her start values are not up to the expectations, yet, but she proved that whatever she's prepared for she will be able to compete."
On whether Johnson's start values are too low to be considered for the World team:
"Well, as it is right now, it looks low. She can add in a little better difficulty I think. She possibly can do her floor routine, and we'll see."
On whether she thinks the U.S. can win team gold at the Tokyo Worlds:
"I never ever said that we will win in my whole career. But I always say we will be fighting for a place on the podium. And I'm saying the very same thing right now."
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