Sacramone's passion, commitment inspire other gymnasts to succeed

0 Comments | USA TODAY, June, 2008 | by Marlen Garcia

Armine Barutyan still gets goose bumps as she recounts how Alicia Sacramone rallied the U.S. women's gymnastics team last September in the world championships in Germany.

The team had buckled on the balance beam, with typically steady Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin committing blunders. The USA had opened the door for defending world champion China to win gold heading into the final rotation.

Barutyan, a U.S. coach, watched and listened as Sacramone instinctively took charge and put the team back on track with inspiring words. "It was a great thing for her to step up," Barutyan says.

Sacramone says she had "a mixture of so many different emotions. It was fear, excitement and a little bit of anger."

She recalled the USA's defeat by China...