Five that Missed Out on an Olympic Medal

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  The first lady of American gymnastics, Cathy was the first to win a World medal for her country.  This medal, as well as being the highest scoring female gymnast at the 1968 Olympics from the US, garnered a lot of attention and pressure for Cathy, who won two national all-around titles.  Injured at her second Olympics in 1972, her routines were not at the same level as they had been in the past.  Despite not winning a medal, Cathy is remembered as a pioneer in USA gymnastics, and went on to a stellar acting career.  Here is Cathy and her lovely lines at the 1970 Worlds and her silver medal winning performance:
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  Link: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpoORvcTbJU" class="autohyperlink" target="_blank">www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpoORvcTbJU</a>
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    <em>Dina Kochetkova</em> RUS
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    Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, Dina quickly established herself as a star of the Russian squad heading to the 1996 Olympics.  A multiple time world medalist (including floor champ in 1994 and beam champ in 1996) and standout on the European scene, Dina won the Goodwill Games in 1994 over two time world champion Shannon Miller.  Known for interesting transition combinations on the uneven bars and super risky beam combinations (the full twisting back handspring bears her name on beam), Dina placed sixth in the all-around in Atlanta and made it to three event finals.  Surgery in 1997 led to her retirement.  Here is her floor routine in 1994, on her way to a bronze in the all-around:
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    Link: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRZaLsSGgbA" class="autohyperlink" target="_blank">www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRZaLsSGgbA</a>
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      <em>Irina Yarotska</em> UKR
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      An iconic and beautiful Ukrainian, Irina burst onto the scene with a bronze on the balance beam at the 2002 Worlds.  The following year, she was fourth in the all-around at the world championships and won the University Games.  Her routines were built to medal, with her long lines and risky combinations.  However, she failed to make any event finals at the 2004 Olympics, where she places sixth all-around.  Check out her supreme and sublime style, including a gainer bhs-onodi-side somi combination:
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      Link: <a href="http://youtu.be/vsdAPiBlReU" class="autohyperlink" target="_blank">http://youtu.be/vsdAPiBlReU</a>
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        <em>Alicia Sacramone</em> USA
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        After falling short of her goal to make the 2004 Olympic team, Alicia entered the new quad swinging, winning the floor title at the 2005 World Championships.  When the new code was implemented in 2006, Alicia continued to be successful and a face of USA gymnastics.  By the time the 2008 Olympics began, she had given up her grips to concentrate on the other three events and had won five individual world medals.  Highly favored to win a medal on vault and floor, Alicia did not make floor finals and finished fourth on vault.  She came back to the sport to finally win a world title on vault in 2010.  Here is that vault performance, where you can see how incredible power, presence, and personality made her a crowd favorite:
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        Link: <a href="http://youtu.be/q2hJSIuNNcg" class="autohyperlink" target="_blank">http://youtu.be/q2hJSIuNNcg</a>
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          <strong>Article by: Kristen Ras</strong>
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          <strong>Photo Cover: Brigid McCarthy</strong>
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