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.

ALSO:

U.S. women's gymnastics team in first place after vault

U.S. women's gymnastics team still in first place after uneven bars

U.S. women's gymastics team remains in first place after third rotation

Copyright © 2012, Los Angeles Times

Wieber left out of gymnastics all-around

AP Photo

Raisman and Douglas Advance to FINALS

In a stunning last-second turn of events, defending world all-around champion Jordyn Wieber was been shut out of the Olympic all-around finals.

Contrary to what many of us would have ever envisioned, it wasn’t a Russian, a Romanian, or a Chinese challenger who has stolen Wieber’s chance to achieve her individual Olympic dream, and it wasn’t even her rival Gabby Douglas, whom many had pegged to fight neck and neck with Wieber for this all-around crown.

It was her other teammate – the U.S. team captain and one of Wieber’s best friends – Aly Raisman

Few in the arena probably even realized that the sturdy Raisman had an opportunity to seize one of the two available all-around spots on this American team when she saluted to begin her final event – floor. Both Douglas and Wieber, the two rivals who had been leading the competition as expected up until the final event, had both stepped out of bounds during their floor routines, costing each some valuable tenths. But hardly anyone noticed what it actually meant.

The audience had likely been so distracted by the overall brilliant performance of the American team on all four events, along with the deafening British crowd that was electrified by the host team as they competed alongside the world champion American squad. Jordyn Wieber was even in the midst of performing her final floor routine when the monstrous 16.133 was flashed for Beth Tweddle’s sensational uneven bars performance on the Brits’ final event – the highest score of the competition thus far, yielding the loudest eruption from the audience.

While the Brits were roaring, an unexpected door was quietly opened for Aly Raisman, who needed a 14.966 to surpass Wieber and grab one of the two available all-around spots for this team.

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