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On July 23, 1996, American gymnast Kerri Strug hobbled to her starting position on an injured ankle for one last attempt at Olympic glory. Team USA had a dominant lead over the Russians, but with two poor landings from Strug's teammate, 14-year-old Dominique Moceanu, and with the scores of two Russian gymnasts yet to be tallied, it appeared that USA's gold medal chances rested squarely on the injured Strug's shoulders. Strug sprinted 77.3-feet down the runway, launched herself into the air, twisted, flipped, and landed (practically on one foot) for a score of 9.712, mathematically guaranteeing a gold medal for her team. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4um3YEX51kWhile Strug's vault is one of the most memorable moments in recent Olympic history for many American audiences, special attention was paid to her performance in July 2021 after American gymnast Simon Biles pulled out of the competition. These comparisons typically criticized Biles for being weak while praising Strug for being strong. One viral post (which made no direct reference to Biles) claimed that Strug fought through the pain of her ankle injury because it was the only way Team USA had a chance at Gold. This idea is central to most people's memory of Strug's heroic vault, as demonstrated in the Olympics' own recounting of the event in the above-displayed video. As social media users touted Strug's bravery, some countered that Strug's final vault wasn't actually necessary and that Strug should have, like Biles, removed herself from competition. We don't doubt that Strug's performance showed amazing grit, nor the fact that her final vault solidified Team USA's gold medal. However, when the final scores of the event were tallied, it was revealed that Team USA could have won gold even if Strug had sat out the final event. Sports Illustrated wrote in 1996: Strug's final vault wasn't needed to secure Team USA's gold medal. But did Strug and her team know it at the time? It's easy to look back and make calculations based on hypotheticals, but what about in that moment? Was it mathematically possible for Russia to win without Strug's final vault? That answer is a little more nuanced. In 1997, one of the officials who was working the scoring table at the event told Sports Illustrated that she was surprised Strug did the final vault because Team USA had already secured the victory. But just how secure was USA's lead? After Strug injured her ankle on her first vault attempt, Strug and her coaches only had about 30 seconds to decide if she would vault again. The team had once held a dominant lead, but with three missed landings in a row and a few Russian gymnasts yet to have their scores recorded, Strug wrote in her biography Landing on my Feet that she felt the gold medal was still up for grabs. Strug goes on to write in her biography to say that the Russians could have still won the event if their final two gymnasts scored 9.9 or higher. After her final vault, however, they no longer had a chance: In the moment, it appears that it was still technically possible (even if highly improbable) for the Russians to win as Strug decided whether to perform her final vault. But if Team USA could have waited just a few more moments, they would have seen that Russia's penultimate performance did not earn perfect marks. In 1996, The Baltimore Sun published an article arguing for gymnasts to be allowed a timeout during competition. During the 1996 Olympics, the Sun argues, if Strug was allowed to call a timeout the team could have gotten a clearer picture of the leader's table and Strug wouldn't have had to perform on her injured ankle. In the heat of the moment, however, the score was close enough that it felt necessary for Strug to continue. The Baltimore Sun writes: In retrospect, after all of the scores had been tallied, it was made clear that Strug could have sat out her final performance, and Team USA would have still won gold. In the moment, however, it was less clear. While it was highly improbable that the Russians would score back-to-back 9.9s, Strug decided that she'd rather risk her ankle than risk losing the gold medal. Strug writes:
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