Aly Raisman: Odds Are Against Team USA Captain to Defeat Victoria Komova

Aly Raisman’s legacy hangs in the balance.

The gymnast who’s never won gold in a major individual all-around competition will go down in Olympic history as either a one-performance wonder or the epitome of clutch. Hopefully for her sake, it’s the latter. Against Russia’s Viktoria Komova in the finals, though, Raisman will need a miracle.

Diane Pucin of the Los Angeles Times reported that former Team USA women’s gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi is skeptical of America’s shot at gold with Raisman competing instead of Jordyn Wieber. She said:

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A stronghold that was the anchor of the team is now out; I’m not sure how she’s going to respond. I hope she is going to get the composure, just like she always does. But you know, you are human beings. You never know how they’re going to be.

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Karolyi’s doubts are justified.

In competitions such as the American Cup, World, Pacific Rim and Visa Championships, Wieber won a whopping seven individual all-around gold medals. She’s the best gymnast in the world. But Komova is a close second.

The Russian superstar has won four individual all-around gold medals in the Youth Olympic Games, European Youth Olympic Festival, Junior European Championship and Russian Cup. She finished second to Wieber in Tokyo at the 2011 World Championships.

At Worlds, Raisman failed to medal in the all-around.

One performance doesn’t prove that she’s on the same level as Wieber and Komova. No one is arguing that she isn’t a top-notch gymnast. She’s a special talent, but not necessarily elite.

Any gymnast with Olympic-caliber talent can get hot in one competition. To triumph in two on the world’s grandest stage, though, would prove that Raisman is indeed elite.

If Raisman wins, she’d go down in history as a legendary underdog that overcame incredible odds to achieve Olympic glory. Until then, feel free to remain a skeptic.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

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