2004 Olympic Games
At the Olympics in Athens, Greece, Kupets won a silver medal with her fellow U.S. team members in the team all-around competition. It had originally been decided that she would compete on each of the events aside from vault; however, after a leg injury (later discovered to be a stress fracture in her hip) caused her to be suddenly withdrawn from beam, her position was given to veteran teammate Mohini Bhardwaj. Kupets therefore competed only on bars and floor. She received the team's highest score on uneven bars with a 9.662 out of a 10.0 start value — putting the U.S. team temporarily ahead of eventual winner Romania in the standings — but also received the lowest on floor exercise with a 9.187 after faltering on a dance combination while trying to turn on the opposite leg she normally performs the skill with.
Kupets competed in the individual all-around at the Olympics after placing 4th overall (37.937) in the qualifying round on the first day of competition, when the team qualifications also took place. In the all-around itself, Kupets under-performed somewhat, perhaps because of her injury. She finished 9th overall in the all-around with a score of 37.112, a little over one point behind the winner, Patterson, who scored a 38.387. A highlight was her close save on beam, where a wobble after a jump saw her very nearly fall, but she regained her composure. Nevertheless, she incurred a hefty deduction, scoring less than 9 for the routine. This, as well as a step out of bounds on the floor exercise, where she scored only 9.237, prevented her from challenging for medals. As usual, her highest scoring event was the bars, where she received a 9.625; Kupets also scored a 9.275 on the vault (out of a 9.7) after taking a step with her landing. Although she had not been expected to medal after her injury, Kupets said after the event that she was happy she had competed regardless.
Kupets won the bronze medal in the individual uneven bars competition with a score of 9.637, behind Émilie Lepennec of France (9.687) and fellow American gymnast Terin Humphrey (9.662). Kupets also finished 5th in the individual balance beam competition with a score of 9.375 out of a 9.8. She did not qualify to compete in the individual floor exercise and vault competitions.
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