Bhardwaj Competing In All-Around
August 13, 2004 | Gymnastics
Aug. 13, 2004
ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Pamela Anderson's investment in Mohini Bhardwaj keeps paying off.
Bhardwaj, whose quest to make the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team was bankrolled by the former "Baywatch" actress, was chosen as a surprise all-around candidate Friday when the Americans released their lineup.
Bhardwaj joins Courtney McCool and co-national champions Courtney Kupets and Carly Patterson in doing all four events during Sunday's team qualifications.
Bhardwaj would be eligible to compete for the all-around title if she finishes high enough. The top 24 individual gymnasts advance to the all-around, though each country is limited to two qualifiers.
Bhardwaj was once one of the most promising young gymnasts in the United States. She burned out on the long hours of training, and went through a rebellious stage that hurt her career. She regained her love of the sport at UCLA, where she was an 11-time All-American and helped the Bruins win two national championships.
Though the 25-year-old is at an age where gymnasts trade their leotards for a coach's warm-up jacket, she decided she had to try one more time to make the Olympic team. Anderson stepped in, giving Bhardwaj $20,000 after she heard the gymnast was selling raffle tickets to help fund her training.
She was chosen unanimously by her teammates as the U.S. captain.
"It's definitely been a long road," Bhardwaj said earlier this week. "I'd say very life-fulfilling for me. That's the best way I can put it."
Bhardwaj will go first on three of the four events, responsible for getting a solid score to set the tone for the rest of the team. She'll go second-last on vault, her strongest event. In preliminaries, five gymnasts compete on each event and four scores count.
The U.S. lineup is:
- Uneven bars: Bhardwaj, Terin Humphrey, McCool, Patterson, Kupets
- Balance beam: Bhardwaj, Kupets, Humphrey, McCool, Patterson
- Floor exercise: Bhardwaj, Kupets, Humphrey, McCool, Patterson
- Vault: McCool, Kupets, Patterson, Bhardwaj, Annia Hatch
Also competing in the all-around is UCLA junior Kate Richardson, who is participating in her second Olympic Games for Canada. In 2000, Richardson earned Canada's highest-ever all-around placement at a fully-attended Olympics when she placed 15th.
