THE KAROLYI WAY: A WINNING TRADITION

The U.S. women's gymnastics program adopted a semi-centralized system 10 years ago, after it failed to win any medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Athletes continue to train at home with their personal coaches, then meet at the Karolyi Ranch for training camps every four to six weeks under the direction of Martha Karolyi. The results in the 10 years since then include:

• 54 Olympic and world championship medals, more than any other country in that span

• 40 medals at the world championships, twice as many as second-place Russia

• 14 Olympic medals, including the all-around gold medalists in 2004 (Carly Patterson) and 2008 (Nastia Liukin)

RACHEL BLOUNT