This may have been the time in her life when she was in perfect shape," he says, knowing no gymnast in recent times has retained the all-round title, which is effectively what is now demanded from her.
Since the new scoring system was implemented in 2006, though, no gymnast has been awarded an execution score (or E-score) of 10.
But what of the appeal today of a half-century-old musical, set in Edwardian England, using no electric guitars or keyboards, no acrobats, gymnasts, trapeze artists or roller blades, and firmly rooted in the old operetta-Broadway tradition?
When Smith was growing up, there were no British gymnasts for him to emulate, or dethrone.
China's defending Olympic all-around champion Yang Wei retired after winning gold at his home Games but, with no Chinese gymnasts making the final, the title was destined for a different country.
She was a gymnast, but there is no gymnastics association in Bahrain, so she decided to try to coach swimming.
Minutes later, when the United States appeared at the top of the leader board announcing that the Americans had won the Olympic team gold medal, the gymnasts could no longer contain their joy.
Team of Teens Dominates: In Gymnastics, U.S. Flies High and Stands Alone (Aug. 1) When the United States appeared at the top of the leader board announcing that the Americans had won the Olympic team gold medal, the five teenage gymnasts could no longer contain their joy.
No other gymnast has achieved this distinction.
Knowing she needed a 9.536 score in the floor exercise to defeat Khorkina, Patterson summoned the kind of force that no other gymnast could muster, earning a 9.712.
