Steve Nunno, in a nostalgic mood before Monday night’s individual event gymnastics finals, said he can remember the first time he saw Shannon Miller on a mat.
“It was 1986, I met her in Moscow,” said Nunno, her personal coach. “I was on a gymnastics tour and she was there as a spectator. We were both from Oklahoma, but we didn’t know each other.
“I was watching the Americans and they were pretty awful,” he said. “But I grew up admiring the Russian coaches and they were there working with the American girls, spotting them on moves. None of the girls could do the skills, they were flying all over the place. Shannon was frustrated as heck. She was 8 years old, 50 pounds. But I remember thinking, `There’s a kid who’s really determined.’ Next thing I know, two weeks later (the Miller family) is at my doorstep.”