Last Chance: Event Finals

 Did anybody notice that no other sport had it's very own theme song and special intro for it's TV coverage?  The husband didn't notice it either but I made sure to point it out.  I realize that I am totally biased but clearly gymnastics is awesome and I'm not just saying that.  The song is Home by Phillip Phillips and hearing it will always remind me of Fierce Five Olympic Gold.

Mckayla Maroney Vaults to win Silver [Photo Source:  NBCOlympics.com]

 Disappointed [Photo Source: NBCOlympics.com]

Vault
Everyone knows that Mckayla Maroney is the best vaulter in the world-maybe even of all time and that she was guaranteed a gold medal as long as she landed on her feet.  Her Vault got her on the Olympic team and is the only event she competed in London.  She soars above the vault higher then anyone else man or woman and her form is perfect.  She's just gifted with some natural talent when it comes to vaulting.   She got the gold medal at worlds last year but at the 2012 Olympic Vault finals...no dice.  You have to hit on the right day at the right time and shockingly she didn't.   She did her Amanar well enough with just one big step out of bounds then landed on her butt on her Mustafina vault.  It was good enough for Silver but not the Gold everyone including her knew she could get.  She couldn't hide the disappointment.  It was written all over her face.  She accepted a hug from Romanian winner Sandra Izbasa but did not accept one from Russian Maria Paseka who got the Bronze; it looked kind of awkward.  She seemed to be in a daze.  It's very sad that the best vaulter in the world doesn't have an Olympic gold medal.

GOLD- Sandra Izbasa-ROU- 15.191 (15.383, 15.000)
SILVER- McKayla Maroney-USA- 15.083(16.066, 14.300)
BRONZE-Maria Paseka-RUS-15.050(15.400, 14.700)
4.Janine Berger-GER- 15.016 (15.133, 14.900)
5.Oksana Chusovitina-GER- 14.783 (15.100, 14.466)
6.Yamilet Pena-DOM- 14.516 (14.566, 14.466)
7.Brittany Rogers-CAN- 14.483 (14.766, 14.200)
8.Elsabeth Black-CAN- 0.000 (0.000, 0.000)

Aliya Mustafina- Gorgeous bar routine [Photo Source:  NBCOlympics.com] 

Uneven Bars
This was a very deep field including two Chinese gymnasts who are very difficult to beat.  Aliya Mustafina was not intimidated and she did a beautiful bar routine with no mistakes.  Gabby Douglas was the only American to make finals.  There are so many amazing bar workers that I didn't expect that she would medal.  She probably would have needed someone to have a major break AND the best performance of her life in order to end up in the top three.  She had one error that most people wouldn't even notice when she had to add an extra 1/2 pirouette in to cover for falling the wrong way on a handstand and finished 8th.  Aliya flashed a sneaky smile when Gabby messed up and she knew for sure she'd get Gold and her teammate Russian Victoria Komova cried again when she clipped her legs on the low bar.  At age 27 Beth Tweddle from Great Britain got the home team it's only gymnastics medal on her best event.  And she finally earned herself the Olympic medal she was holding out for before retirement.

GOLD-Aliya Mustafina- RUS- 16.133
SILVER-He Kexin- CHN- 15.933
BRONZE-Beth Tweddle- GBR- 15.916
4.Yao Jinnan- CHN- 15.766
5.Viktoria Komova- RUS- 15.666
6.Elisabeth Seitz- GER- 15.266
7.Koko Tsurumi- JPN- 14.966
8.Gabby Douglas- USA- 14.800

Deng Linlin from China wins Gold [Photo Source:  NBCOlympics.com]

Balance Beam
I don't think I have ever wanted a gymnast to win a medal more then I wanted Aly Raisman to get one on beam.  There is something about her work ethic, fierce competitiveness and sweet personality that just makes me want to root for her.  She missed out on the All Around Bronze in a tie breaker.  Give the girl a medal!!  There were two Chinese gymnasts in the lead.  They own beam when they hit so after that it was basically a battle for 3rd.  Gabby Douglas fell off.  Russian Victoria Komova had a melt down falling off and then falling on her dismount.  She seemed to give up, but this time there were no tears.  I think she'd just had it.  Romanian Catalina Ponor did a decent routine but had some pretty big wobbles and a big step back on the dismount.  It was good enough for 3rd.  Then it was Aly's turn.  She had one slight wobble that seems to have lost her a connection but aside from a tiny hop on the landing it was a great routine.  The judges come back with a 14.966 placing her 4th which was ridiculous.  She hasn't scored that low since she's been in London and now they are going to low  ball her in event finals?  Her coach Mihai groaned.  You could see Bela and Marta gesturing in the stands that he should put in an inquiry.  Meanwhile, Aly being the good sport that she is offers Catalina a hug.  Her coach gets the paperwork and runs it to the head judge, there is a viewing of the replay and the passing of a paper to another table.  Nobody knows what's going to happen.  The arena is filled with tension, her parents look like they are about to pass out and everyone is staring at the scoreboard in confusion.  The judges increased her difficulty score so it went up to 15.066 but now it's a tie between Catalina and Aly for the Bronze!  Tie breaker math lost Aly the Bronze in the All Around but this time she won the tie Breaker with a higher execution score and got 3rd.  Whew!!  I was so happy for her her!! 

GOLD-Deng Linlin- CHN-15.600
SILVER-Sui Li- CHN- 15.500
BRONZE-Aly Raisman- USA-15.066
4.Catalina Ponor- ROU- 15.066
5.Kseniia Afanaseva- RUS- 14.583
6.Larisa Iordache- ROU- 14.200
7.Gabby Douglas- USA- 13.633
8.Viktoria Komova- RUS- 13.166

Aly Raisman nails Floor [Photo Source:  Getty Images @NBCOlympics.com]

Her 3rd Olympic Medal  [Photo Source:  Getty Images @NBCOlympics.com]

Floor Exercise
Aly had one more chance for an individual Gold Medal and with the highest difficulty of anyone in the finals it really was hers to take.  She nailed it with a 15.6; the highest score awarded so far on floor.  Nobody could even come close to touching her.  She may not be the most artistic gymnast but she wears you down with her consistency, she works with what she's got and she does it well.  After her All Around disappointment she ends up with the most medals out of all the Americans.  She put that Gold medal around her coaches neck as a show of appreciation.  How sweet is that? There was another tie breaker for the bronze.  This time tie breaker rules put Vanessa Ferrari of Italy in 4th and Aliya wins the bronze even though they had the same score.  Tie breakers are heart breakers for whoever loses out and I still don't understand why both can't get a medal if they are equal.  Why give out less medals when you can give out more?  Floor was Jordan Wieber's only chance for an individual medal.  She went out of bounds and sort of stumbled through her dance elements.  I've never seen her have a worse floor routine.  I felt so bad for her.  It hasn't been officially evaluated but she might have a stress fracture in her right leg.  It's been bothering her enough for her to not be at her best but not enough to keep her from competing.

GOLD-Aly Raisman- USA- 15.600
SILVER-Catalina Ponor- ROU- 15.200
BRONZE-Aliya Mustafina- RUS- 14.900
4.Vanessa Ferrari- ITA- 14.900
5.Lauren Mitchell- AUS- 14.833
6.Kseniia Afanaseva- RUS- 14.566
7.Jordyn Wieber- USA- 14.500
8.Sandra Izbasa- ROU- 13.333

I'd say it was a very successful Olympics for Team USA.  Maybe now that all this competition business is over the girls can relax and have some fun exploring London.  I'm not gonna lie.  I'm pretty sad that Olympic gymnastics is over.  It's been so awesome getting to watch the best gymnasts compete on TV night after night and I've really enjoyed watching their stories unfold.  There were tears, drama and so much controversy.  There is all kinds of hating and bashing going on around the interwebs.  Everything up to and including Gabby's hair, Team USA leotard selection, Russian divas, fake injuries, favoritism, score fixing and terrible NBC TV coverage is up for debate.  There are disagreements about unfair stupid rules and who "really" should have won.  When all is said and done the gymnasts competed their heart out, the judges made their decisions and medals were awarded.  They are all talented and deserving athletes and it's just too bad that everyone can't win.

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