London 2012: Artistic gymnastics men's rings aren't the only thing to celebrate today
With events like vault, men's rings, and the women's uneven bars, artistic gymnastics can seem daunting. But on Tuesday, the US women made it all look so easy.
The US women's gymnastics team beat China, Romania, and Russia soundly with a score of 183.596 to win the team gold medal. After a poor floor exercise performance Russia finished five points behind the US for the silver. Romania and China fought it out for the bronze medal, Romania winning it on the vault in the last rotation.
The US was solid, if not spectacular in all the events, beginning with McKayla Maroney's 16.23 vault score, the highest of the day, and ending with three floor exercise scores at 15.0 or above by Gabby Douglas, Jordyn Wieber, and Aly Raisman.
There were a few wobbles on balance beam and in dismounts, but no slips, no steps out of bounds, and no falls.
Tuesday's win was historic – it is only the second time the US women have won a team gold in gymnastics. The last time they took the gold, in 1996, the same three countries medaled in the same order, the US with gold, Russia with silver, and Romania with bronze.
The US women have had disappointing performances in the past few Olympic games, coming in as world champions and leaving without gold. But this year's team is considered the one of the strongest they've ever had. Douglas, who performed every event, was incredibly consistent, scoring above 15 in every event, even on the beam where she's struggled.
Wieber also shined with a huge vault score, and a near-perfect floor routine, proving that she really can deliver under any circumstances, even after being ousted from the all-around competition.
Kyla Ross, 15, the youngest member of the US team, was also strong, putting in solid performances on the uneven bars and the beam, two of the more difficult events.
The women certainly redeemed US gymnastics after the men's disappointing fifth-place team finish on Monday. The rings were one of the men's lowest-scoring events.
