China Wins the Olympic Gymnastics Gold
Play-by-Play of the 2008 Women’s Gymnastics Team Competition
Aug 12, 2008
The US gymnastics team started well on vault, and managed to achieve solid scores on uneven bars despite earlier troubles. The Chinese, however, performed impressively, and a fall on beam was matched by the US team's Alicia Sacramone, who also fell on floor exercise, widening the gap and making it impossible for the US team to recover.
First Rotation: US Vaults Strong, China Bobbles Landings
After the first rotation, Russia was leading the field, but this was due to the higher difficulty scores on bars, where Russia and Romania competed while the US and China were on vault. This format puts the first- and second-place finishers from qualifying on a rotation together, along with the third- and fourth-place finishers, so that spectators and judges can see the closest teams side-by-side on each apparatus.
On vault, two Chinese gymnasts landed unsteadily, and though highest scorers Cheng Fei and Shawn Johnson tied with sixteen points each, the US made a true team effort with Alicia Sacramone and Bridget Sloan also pulling off solid scores. On bars, Russia performed solidly, but not spectacularly compared to Chinese and American abilities, making it clear where the competition would be Wednesday morning.
Second Rotation: China Pulls Ahead on Bars, Divide Widens Between Silver and Bronze
The second rotation made it clear that there would be no surprises from Russia or Romania. With a full three points separating the US in second place from Russia in third, the event became two separate competitions – one for gold and one for bronze.
The US was up first on bars, with Chellsie Memmel performing solidly to erase the memory of a fall in qualifying, but Shawn Johnson fumbling slightly, scoring a low 15.35. Nastia Liukin, who also fell in qualifying, did not make the same error in the finals and scored a 16.0. The Chinese performed impressively as usual on this event, with their lowest score higher than the middle score for the US. With a 16.8 and a 16.85 – from Kexin He, the third major fall on bars in qualifying – China pulled ahead of the US by a margin of only 1.125 points.
Third Rotation: Liukin and Johnson Bring the US Within Sight of Gold
China started the rotation on beam, looking shaky with a fall by Cheng Fei. Though Alicia Sacramone also fell on her mount, Liukin and Johnson, scoring 15.975 and 16.175 respectively, brought the US team within one point of China’s lead by the end of the rotation, going into floor exercise. Russia, on the other hand, with Anna Pavlova’s fall on floor, dropped into fourth place behind Romania, the gap between second and third place only increasing.
Fourth Rotation: Sacramone’s Fall on Floor Gives China the Gold
In the final rotation, the US team started on floor, and the situation became quickly apparent when Alicia Sacramone again fell on her second tumbling pass. Both Liukin and Johnson stepped out of bounds, having lost their emotional edge. They could only watch and wait, hoping for an error from the Chinese that did not come. Widening their gap, China clenched the Olympic gold medal for the first time in women’s gymnastics history with the US in silver, and Romania bronze.
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