Nastia Muntean Sets 1 10 1 15 Page

She sets her jaw.

Nastia Muntean walks to the end of the vault runway, chalking her hands in small, deliberate circles. She is seventeen, all sinew and focus, the kind of quiet that makes crowds lean forward. On the scoreboard, the numbers flicker: – 10. Set 1 – 15. Nastia Muntean Sets 1 10 1 15

First run: 1–10 . She flies—handspring, twist, landing stuck like a nail driven into wood. The crowd exhales. Somewhere a judge nods once, sharp. She sets her jaw

No one explains what the numbers mean. Maybe they are her own private countdown. Maybe they are the judges’ secret language—tenths of a point held in reserve, degrees of difficulty waiting to be unlocked. chalking her hands in small