Shawn Johnson Wins Gold in Olympic Beam Final
US Goes 1-2 Again in Women’s Gymnastics, and Liukin Wins the Silver
Aug 19, 2008
Going into the event, the expectations fell on US gymnast Shawn Johnson, whose gold medal hopes had fallen short in the team, all around, and floor exercise competitions; and Chinese gymnast Li Shanshan. These two women both started the event with an A-score of seven points, and so all they had to do was hit cleanly to medal.
Disappointment Early for Li Shanshan, Cheng Fei, and Anna Pavlova
The evening started out with trouble on beam. Cheng Fei, a controversial figure in the vault final for many Americans who did not expect her to top Alicia Sacramone for a bronze medal after an awkward landing on her knees, had trouble again on beam. These event finals were truly devastating for the Chinese team leader, who despite her bronze medals had hoped to do much better. On floor exercise, she did not medal after hoping for a gold, and here her routine was full of wobbles.
Li Shanshan, Johnson's main rival for gold, fell off the apparatus, crushing her hopes for a medal. However, what will perhaps be considered another controversial result related to Cheng Fei occurred when Russian Anna Pavlova performed. Though she had an error on one skill and a big step on the landing, she had fewer bobbles than Cheng, and despite their identical A-scores she ended up behind Cheng, in what would be fourth place. This has been a difficult Olympics for Pavlova and the Russian team, who was hoping at least for one medal in the event finals. They go home with no medals in women's gymnastics.
Johnson and Liukin Stand 1-2 Again, and Johnson Finally Gets Her Gold
For Shawn Johnson, this has been a satisfying, but nonetheless difficult Olympic debut. She came to this Games in her prime, best in the world, ready to show what she could do. She is known for consistency, for stuck landings, and for powerful tumbling. She ended up with three silvers, and though putting on a happy face, had to have been thinking of gold one more time when the beam final began.
This time, Johnson came through, with her trademark routine on balance beam – very difficult, and full of tumbling with landings that make it look like child's play. She went up before Liukin, and scored lower in execution, but her sky-high difficulty put her in the top spot. As it has so many times in this Games, the competition came down to the A-score and clean performances. Liukin and Johnson both performed cleanly, but Johnson's routine was more difficult. Cheng had a higher A-score than Liukin, but a lot of trouble in execution. The only question mark is Anna Pavlova, and the comparison will no doubt leave many fans scratching their heads.
