Kristie Phillips - 1988 US Nationals Balance Beam

Gymnastics - Kristie Phillips - 1988 US Nationals Balance Beam

[@JustJason1977]

I still watch this! Her body is beautiful!

[@JustJason1977]

My favorite gymnast of ALL TIME! The judges were really hard on her with this routine. I remember when I first saw this version of her beam routine on TV in 1988 and almost lost my mind! It was SPECTACULAR!!!

[@SatawatMedhanee]

Jason Smith I agreed with you!

[@JustJason1977]

I spoke with her LIVE on Facebook on the KPACS page! I almost crapped my pants! Tell me...No offense to Missy Marlowe, but WHO do you REAAALLY picture in the beam final in the 1988 Olympics? Oh, WAIT, MISSY wasn't in ANY of the finals...just sayin...and THAT's when they never substituted people when they thought they would win a medal...like they do NOW!I think she STILL would've gotten silver if she hit her routine. You can't beat a Soviet or a Romanian in the 80s! C'mon..

[@carlajokranceluebbe1244]

@@JustJason1977 OMG!!!!!!! You got to speak with the Legend herself??? I would absolutely DIE for real if I ever spoke to her; heck, even just SEEING her would do me in!!!!! 😀🤸‍♀️❤️

[@JustJason1977]

@@carlajokranceluebbe1244 Yes ma'am! I could hear her accent in her comments lol She was really sweet!

[@JustJason1977]

9.80? Ugh

[@JustJason1977]

I still live for this routine!

[@JustJason1977]

I'm still Pissed off at this score!

[@tuesdaypatience]

Thank you for uploading this! Oh wait, did they forget to mention she lost flexibility 🙄? It's called puberty - and she was still absolutely AMAZING to watch. Kristie was always my favorite. like her, my greatest strength was my flexibility. I had my USA Gymnastics magazine with her on the cover for YEARS, well after I had to quit (I essentially destroyed my ankle).

[@carlajokranceluebbe1244]

I was so annoyed at them keeping repeating that too!!! I also had her SI cover and about 6 posters plastered all over my room, she was my idol, absolutely my favorite of all time!!!!! I had my hair exactly like hers for years!!! Such a legend-Even MORE SO now due to the passage of time and learning how she was treated by the federation as well as how her coaches’ shown in this video treated her. How she struggled with an eating disorder and those coaches made fun of her mom’s weight…just disgusting.

[@vancouvergymnast]

Completely agree. She would've been in the mix for the Balance Beam event finals too. Love you Kristie!

[@K60life]

she is wonderful.

[@ajimenez1719ify]

I dont think she had "lost" any of her flexibility in her back, it just looks like she didnt spend alot of time to complete the "Philips " , is all.

[@victoriaindigo]

Mary Lou just needed to harp on it endlessly and lawd knows nobody remembers anything Mary Lou did on beam lol (cough*jealous*cough)

[@pappysprite]

victoria grant I completely agree with you. Mary Lou was not a good Commentator and it was almost embarrassing to watch her be a commentator at the 1988 Olympics where her predictions were always wrong. The fact that she had to come t on her flexibility was so ignorant considering this showed tremendous flexibility that most could not do. The simple fact that one judge gave a perfect 10 and other so much lower shows how unprofessional the judges were at this time. This routine was way underscored and embarrassing. They cast her away at this time which was a shame.

[@seer1623]

MLR had no flexibility, stunk on beam, and showed the height of hypocrisy in commenting on Phillips’ weight. She was a tub herself. All she could do was wiggle her rotundas butt.

[@UrbanCastle]

9.80?! For flawless and original? Clearly the judging was stacked against her. Completely unjust.

[@dkasper3267]

Back when a female's weight was plastered all over the TV and the commentators felt free to say pretty much anything. It was too bad she missed the window, she was a great gymnast.

[@ferency98]

Does anyone surmise that Kristie was left off the Olympic team due to politics? Her coach Karolyi had 5 of the 8 finishes at Trials (3 in the top 6). Maybe they didn't want Karolyi to have too many of his girls on the 6 member team? It seems that this 9.8 was too low, along with quite low scores at Trials. I thought she and Phoebe Mills were the top beam workers in 1988 and believe Kristie could have contributed to the team.

[@Arguing101]

Hey guys! This is coming from a guy named "metallicafreak811." This obviously means his opinion is extremely important!

[@davidcheung7789]

She was touted as being the next Mary Lou. Too bad she didn't make the Olympic Team. She could have been really great if the world didn't leave her behind.

[@sallydaniel1023]

Unfortunate bad timing for her. By the time the Olympics came, puberty set in, and they were so harsh on her for simply maturing. She was a great gymnast ❤

[@davidcheung7789]

@@sallydaniel1023 Bela Karoyli was one of them and the first to let her go. So very sad.

[@metsedudenj]

At the 87 worlds, aside from the fall in the All Around, she was pretty much the high scorer on most of the events, so yes, she was like 23rd, but would habe been 15th without that fall on floor.

[@kevinbachman6578]

Wow. In her time, she really was “that bitch”. Damn. Hats off. 🙏🏽🤩

[@lps773]

9.800 seems a very low, cruel score here. Especially in comparison to what others were given.

[@carlajokranceluebbe1244]

Perfectly said!! 👍Absolutely cruel.

[@janetmiller2980]

She truly was a specialist on beam. What an amazing performer! The comments about diet and weight gain are disheartening, though.

[@mbrand19971]

Where is Kristy Phillips now she had potential to make it in the Olympics.

[@carlajokranceluebbe1244]

She was an alternate on the 1988 Seoul games. She made a “comeback” of sorts”for fun” in 1999 and she looked gorgeous abs talented as ever!! She now owns and operates KPAC Gymnastics !!!

[@intldawn]

The only place I saw a deduction is that she landed a little low with her chest on the double pike. But that's not a .2 deduction by any means. Everything else she did was solid.

[@TheCopper05]

9.90 or 9.95. I guess, the judges was trying to prepare for the big time with International Scoring. The 9.80 seems very low, though.

[@simonsenecal6560]

She was also politically way out of favor by this point.

[@serenakicksass]

Her compulsories were weak though and compulsores were HUGE in the scoring back then.

[@JasonSmith-my7ug]

Do you have access to the compulsories?!?!?!! I WANNA SEE!!!! PLEASEEEE!!!! I've tried sooooo hard to find them! I'll buy them from you!!!!

[@JasonSmith-my7ug]

I'm NOT KIDDING! I'll give you my e-mail!

[@TashaBetty]

Not only was Kristie underscored at nationals and trials, but Missy Marlowe was ridiculously over scored. It was entirely predictable that Marlowe would fall off beam at the Olympics. Perhaps if they had fairly scored Phillips and she had been on the team, the .500 deduction by the East German judge would not have mattered.

[@TheCopper05]

9.90 or 9.95

[@agators212]

i think her lines look so much nicer here compared to 86. the more womanly her figure got and less pencil thin she was her legs look longer also

[@hairbrush81]

She had more difficulty and originality than Silivas on beam, and Silivas ended up winning the beam gold, so that shows Philips would have won the beam gold. Her beam is way better than Shushunova who won the beam silver in Seoul.

[@TyroneWashington-qt8wr]

Isn't it harder in the dismount to ro bhs then dismount off beam? In 2024 nobody is doing that! I guess this girl was ahead of her time back then lol

[@metsdudenj]

And given how the scoring went in Seoul, Kristie would have scored under 9.8 on everything. Look at Melissa Marlowe, the top US perfomer in 1987 was relegated to 6th on the team and scored nothing over 9.75. Her vault was not better than Stack, and her floor had two double twists, which would have been 9.6.

[@hairbrush81]

She would have won the gold on beam at the Games over Daniela Silivas.

[@russianskatingfan]

I think the reason they kept people like Philips, Henrich, Faehn, and Mars off the team is they were scared of their compulsories and how they would score internationally. Compulsories were big to the whole overall competition in Seoul so they wanted all gymnasts strong in compulsories. I havent seen enough of Gunthrope to know they were in compulsories.

[@metsedudenj]

Chelle was better on floor than Stacey, but I was always a big Stacey fan, and thought she would have been a good choice, but she could never perform under pressure, even in the 87 worlds training she didnt shine or the 87 pan ams, where she could have been put on the team as well

[@brettonoverton6902]

She chose to run from the Karolyi’s in an Olympic yr. There was no way she was going to be put on that team.

[@bigbennie96]

Yeah thats it Mary Lou she lost a ton of flexibility in her back lol holy critical #Rude

[@UrbanCastle]

Well, we all know one of the greatest strengths of Mary Lou was her flexibility. LOL. I love them both, quite honestly. But I think the cards were stacked against this poor gal. She was better in 1988 than in 1987 or 1986. And better yet in 1999 ...but didn't hit in 1999 when it mattered most. Love her - and her family - to bits.

[@carlajokranceluebbe1244]

@@UrbanCastle Your comment made me LOL!!! Nice 🔥 and so true!! 👍 MLR also reminded us nonstop about her weight gain and how her maturing body “betrayed” her. I mean, how DARE get taller, develop hips/breasts and start your period. How DARE you Kristie!!! /s

[@metsdudenj]

She wouldnt have outscored Phoebe MIills on beam. She maybe could have made beam finals over Kelly, that's about it.

[@metsdudenj]

She had less difficulty than Silivas, And in terms of compulsories, she would have maybe scored 9.,7, Not enough to medal there buddy, Phoebe had the best routine of the finals and you forget that the prelim scores counted half, That means she would have needed to average over 9.9 on all three routines to get on the podium at Seoul. Kristie was good, but not good enough for that score range. Phoebe was way better and deserved the silver medal

[@corymajor7811]

Philips said in an interview I read Silivas was way overrated watching the Games at home and she thinks she could have beaten her for the beam gold. She also called Silivas a sore loser in her AA loss to Shushunova, and said the Bulgarians should have beaten her for the floor gold and Kersten and Shushunova on bars. Surprised how critical she was of her.

[@metsdudenj]

@@corymajor7811 Well. once again the prelims and compulsories made a huge difference here. Silivas was queen of the compulsories and did well enough in team optionals to build up a commanding lead. Kristie was not strong enough to make the US team ( awful compulsories and weak floor and bars optionals) that her beating Silivas is a moot point. I agree that in 1988 she did not deserve her event gold on beam or floor and definitely not a bronze on vault. She was also gifted the 89 world bars and beam titles,

[@corymajor7811]

@@metsdudenj I thought she deserved the bars gold. Kersten was overscored in every single round and should not have even won silver. Shushunova had maybe equal optionals but weaker compulsories. Floor I would have had the Bulgarians going 1-2 with bronze to Silivas, especialy since she missed her first pass again in the event finals but this time was not deducted for it despite it being the easier pass she missed vs team optionals where she was. Weird. Beam I had her winning. Who do you think deserved to win beam if not her? The other medalists were Shushunova, Mills, and Potorac. Boginskaya messed up her final beam performance and dropped to 5th. Shushunova could only beat Silivas on beam if Silivas had a shaky performance like the AA but Silivas nailed her routine and it was Shushunova who had a shaky outing the last round when she was already behind. AA? I am split between Shushunova and Silivas, not sure which should have won. I go back and forth all the time there. Vault fuck not. Johnson was totally robbed there of a medal. Total reputation medal as were her string of golds at the 89 worlds. Why do you think Philips is so down on Silivas though, one of the greatest gymansts ever? Seems like pure jealousy to me. Phillip's compulsory bars which always scored around a 9.2 would already take her final AA total (she now maxes out at a 79.6 or something) below Shushunova's and Silivas's even if by some miracle she got 10 on compulsory vault, compulsory beam, compulsory floor, and all 8 optional routines. Just to give some perspective how fake the hype of her winning the AA ever was. And yeah her compulsory beam would give her no chance to ever beat Silivas out on beam, even if her optionals could compete (not saying it could either).

[@metsdudenj]

@@corymajor7811 I think people think Kristie belonged on the team because she supposedly came so close in 8th place. The thing is, 2 other gymnasts before her, Yamishiro and Mar, dropped out due to injuries, so Philips was really the 10th or so best gymnast in the country. He compulsories were very weak. I saw some of them: very little height on floor and sluggish on bars. Her floor and bars were not really world class, and she was not better than Garrison or Mills on beam so she would not have ever made EF in Seoul. Look at how bad she was in all of 1987. And that was when she was supposedly at her prime. She managed to score 74th place in compulsories in Rotterdam. Pathetic. In terms of Silivas and Shoushounova, there was alot of gifting to both of them in the AA, but it comes down to the amount of errors and Silivas optional vault and beam are what cost her the gold. The floor final was a cluster fuck and the scoring was ridiculous. The Bulgarians both deserved 10s and Silivas a 9.9 and Boginskaya 9.85, And vault dont even get me started. Kersten was a joke as were all of the East Germans.

[@corymajor7811]

@@metsdudenj I love Silivas and think she is one of the best gymnasts ever, and she is a classy lady. She still does interviews today and she is fabulous and well spoken, and she never gripes about any of her past results (unlike some of her whiny ass fans). But her crazy fans annoy me. They are still bitter over the 88 AA result which is just one of many debateable close results and controversies in gymnastics history. I saw a video of Shushunova performing recently where about 10 of them said Shushunova dying of pneumonia was karma for her undeserved AA gold over Silivas in Seoul. How sick and perverted is that, just disgusting. The Bulgarians were so robbed in floor finals, it was all politics. Bogi's routine was a joke, two double twists, this is not 1978, it is 1988. Anyway on Phillips I agree on all you said. Her compulsories sucked on every event but beam, and even her compulsory beam was not great. On optionals her vault was just ok, her floor mediocre, her bars sucked bigtime although not as badly as her compulsory bars atleast, and her beam was very good, literally her only very good routine out of all 8 was her optional beam. Garrison was better than her on every event except for optional vault, even her compulsory vault was better. Stack was better everywhere except for beam, Philips was way better there but much weaker on everything else. Marlowe was light years better on bars, weaker on beam, neither was that good on vault or floor, but Marlowe was better overall on compulsories which gave her an edge. Spivey was better on every event but beam, optional bars both were kind of weak, but Spivey was way better on compulsory bars. I would have even had Faehn on the team over her is she was much better on vault and bars, both compulsories and optionals. She would have probably had her scores dropped on every event but beam in Seoul. Maybe counted on optional bars with a super low 9.4 or something only since Spivey fell.

[@metsedudenj]

I wish I had seen that exhibition, I wasnt impressed with Kristie at trials on her compulsories and bars and floor as well. Missy looked great at SLC, but at Seoul she was a little sluggish.

[@jimphan7777]

Have you seen compulsorily from trials? I’m dying to see it

[@hairbrush81]

Less difficulty than Silivas? Are you kidding me. Silivas had nothing in her routine. Just a double back dismount and two layouts, big whoop. Kristi had all kinds of difficult and inventive things in this routine.

[@juanantoniomoreno3409]

Silivas had good tumbling on beam, amplitude and a killer dismount.

[@metsdudenj]

Kristie's vault would not have exceeded 9.8 Her beam yes, her floor 9.7 at most. Her compulsory beam 9.7, bars 9.5, floor 9.8 at most and vault, 9.7 She wouldnt have added much to the team