The Best Photos from London 2012 Olympics

The full moon rises through the Olympic Rings hanging beneath Tower Bridge during the London 2012 Olympic Games August 3, 2012. (REUTERS/Luke MacGregor)

Fireworks explode over the stadium during the Closing Ceremony on Day 16 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 12, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

McKayla Maroney of the United States stands on the podium with her silver medal during the medal ceremony following the Artistic Gymnastics Women's Vault final on Day 9 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on August 5, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

U.S. gymnast Gabrielle Douglas performs on the balance beam during the artistic gymnastics women's individual all-around competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics, in London. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

United States' Michael Phelps swims in his last Olympic race, the men's 4 X 100-meter medley relay, at the Aquatics Centre during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Saturday, Aug. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

David Boudia of the United States competes in the Men's 10m Platform Diving Semifinal on Day 15 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre on August 11, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

Usain Bolt of Jamaica celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win gold during the Men's 200m Final on Day 13 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 9, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

South Korea's Hyeonwoo Kim bites his gold medal at the podium of Men's 66Kg Greco-Roman wrestling at the ExCel venue during the London 2012 Olympic Games August 7, 2012. (REUTERS/Damir Sagolj)

United States' Ryan Lochte reacts after finishing first in the men's 400-meter individual medley swimming final at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Saturday, July 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa De Olza)

(L-R) McKayla Maroney, Kyla Ross, Alexandra Raisman, Gabrielle Douglas and Jordyn Wieber of the United States celebrate after winning the gold medal in the Artistic Gymnastics Women's Team final on Day 4 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on July 31, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)



The Steps towards Glory always start with 'G'

U.S. women win gold medal in gymnastics

London Olympics: U.S. women win gold medal in gymnastics

Gabrielle Douglas of the United States celebrates the gold medal win with teammates and coaches. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times / July 31, 2012)


By Diane Pucin
July 31, 2012, 10:40 a.m.

LONDON -- The United States women's gymnastics team built a big early lead on the vault and held it emphatically through three rousing performances on the floor exercise to win its first gymnastics women's team gold medal since 1996.

Alexandra Raisman was well into happy tears even before she finished the final exercise of the night, a bouncy routine set to "Hava Nagila" that was awarded a 15.300.

The Americans beat the silver medalists from Russia by over five points. Romania was third and the defending gold medalists from China were fourth.

PHOTOS: Americans win women's gymnastics team gold medal

The U.S. had a total of 183.596; Russia had 178.530 and Romania 176.414.

The Russians took a lot of pressure off the U.S. by going up first on the final rotation, also their floor exercise.

The second Russian up, Anastasia Grishina, nearly fell out of her first tumbling pass, landed another one on her shoulder and couldn't build on the momentum Aliya Mustafina had given her team with a solid score of 15.100 to begin the floor exercise. She scored only a 12.466.

Grishina's mistake meant she earned deductions for not connecting moves, and the Russian team, almost in unison, dropped their heads before Grishina walked off the floor.

To make it even easier for the U.S., Ksenia Afanasyeva, the final Russian competitor, landed her final tumbling pass almost on her face. Afanasyeva, the defending world floor exercise champion, was given a score of 14.333. The Russians had posted a final score of 178.530.

Gabrielle Douglas kicked-started the U.S. with a sassy and solid opening routine and Jordyn Wieber finished hers without major mistakes and with a huge smile before Raisman rocked the crowd.

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