Orlando looking for better day ahead

Rhythmic gymnast 17th after opening routines

August 21, 2008

Brad Kelly

BEIJING -- Alexandra Orlando admits to being a little star struck at the Olympic Games.

Now, after competing in the first two segments of the qualification process of rhythmic gymnastics on Thursday night, she feels like she belongs among those stars.

“Walking in here, these girls are so unbelievable, every single one of them is just incredible and I’ve been watching them since I was a little girl,” she said shortly after completing her hoop routine, the second of the night after opening with the rope.

“Some of these girls have inspired me to be here today, so for me to be competing against them is so amazing.”

The 21-year-old from North York finally got a taste of Olympic action after arriving in Beijing back on Aug. 7. She was the first competitor on the floor in the rope, scoring a 15.675, and followed with a slightly better 16.550 in the hoop. She’s sitting 17th of 24 heading into Friday’s clubs and ribbons.

She felt being the first one out of the gate to perform in front of the judges was a disadvantage.

“I’m not very happy with my rope score,” she said. “I know coming out first it was a disadvantage. The scores for the first gymnast out are usually not very high. But I’m used to coming from behind and fighting.”

It also didn’t help that she received a penalty for her rope landing out of the performance area. Though she disagreed with the decision, the .25 deduction hurt her score.

Her strongest events are still ahead Friday, with hopes of cracking the top-15 now her target. Only the top-10 based on the combined scores of the four disciplines advance to Saturday’s final.

“I want to be in the top 15. That was my goal coming in,” she said. “Top ten, I was looking at the scores and it’s a little far off, but anything can happen.

“I just want to leave with no regrets, go for it, and not hold anything back.”

She earned her ticket here after finishing ninth overall at the 2007 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships. She just missed out on representing Canada at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, falling short by one-tenth of a point.