LONDON – Does it get any stranger at women's gymnastics?
Aly Raisman of the USA won bronze in the balance beam competition after winning an appeal.
All-around champ Gabby Douglas flopped again in an individual event Tuesday while Aly Raisman found herself the beneficiary of the tie-break system five days after losing a medal because of a tiebreaker.
She also needed to win a protest just to get to the tiebreaker.
And there are two events left on the final day of gymnastics at the London Olympics.
Raisman, the 18-year-old U.S. team captain, originally finished fourth on the balance beam, but the USA protested her level of difficulty marks. After a few anxious moments, the judges agreed with the U.S. position and placed Raisman in a tie for third with Romania's Catalina Ponor at 15.066. Then the tiebreaker kicked in, and Raisman was awarded bronze because of her execution score, 8.766 to Ponor's 8.466.
Raisman broke out into a huge smile and put her arms in the air after the announcement. Douglas, her teammate, felt the opposite emotion. Stone-faced, she had sat and watched her score of 13.633 be posted after a wobbly routine included a near-fall. She managed to stay off the floor only by wrapping both arms around the apparatus.
Had Russian star Victoria Komova not completely fallen off and scored 13.166, Douglas would have finished last among the eight competitors a day after finishing last on the uneven bars. This was her final event at these Games. She said the mental toll was harder on her than the physical one.
"I put my all into it," she said. "Overall, it's been a good journey."
Deng Linlin of China took the gold on beam and Sui Lu of China the silver.
Raisman has a chance at another medal later Tuesday in the floor exercise along with Jordyn Wieber.
The only two American men competing Tuesday — Danell Leyva and Jonathan Horton— finished out of the medal race in the high bar. Epke Zonderland of the Netherlands won the gold.
Douglas had acknowledged he was tired after the all-around and team golds. And she has had problems with focusing over time in the past. The whirlwind of praise, television appearances and Twitter popularity in the days following the gold caught up to her.
Still, her improvement on beam has been the biggest factor behind her rise from what national team coordinator Marta Karolyi called an average elite gymnast to now, a gold medalist.
In June, after finishing the first day of competition at nationals tied with Wieber, Douglas slipped on the balance beam. A year ago, Douglas would have struggled to manage her nerves after such a stumble. This time, she fought back.
"I think I've improved so much with the mental situation," Douglas said then. "When I fell, I was thinking, 'This is not going to be another Visas.' I got back up on the beam and I was so bad. I said, 'I'm going to stick everything.' I wanted to show I was a fighter and I was not giving up."
Last year at the Visa Championships, Douglas imploded, finishing seventh in the all-around. "She's a different Gabby than she was at last year's championships — mentally," Karolyi said a month ago. "It looks like she's maturing and not giving up very easily and if she makes a mistake she's able to regroup and turn the page. You must turn the page and continue the chapter. She was able to do that after the fall on the beam."
In nationals, Douglas finished just behind Wieber. In the next major competition, the Olympic trials, Douglas was first. And in London, she's been golden. Her consistency on beam was key as the Americans won the team title, the first by the USA since 1996, and her confident routine two days later gave her the all-around gold, a first for an African-American gymnast.
Before this summer, Douglas said her "beam was shaky and kind of kept me out of things." This made her work harder. "I was telling everyone, 'Don't count me out on beam just yet,' " Douglas said Sunday. "Because I am so capable and I'm so strong on beam. I was so happy to prove to everyone that I really am tough and I can really do this beam routine."
Monday after finishing last among eight competitors in the uneven bars final, tired Douglas vowed to finish on a good note on the event that's now a strength. She did, from eighth to seventh.
By Jerry Lai, USA TODAY Sports
Aly Raisman of the USA won bronze in the balance beam competition after winning an appeal.
Aly Raisman of the USA won bronze in the balance beam competition after winning an appeal.
All-around champ Gabby Douglas flopped again in an individual event Tuesday while Aly Raisman found herself the beneficiary of the tie-break system five days after losing a medal because of a tiebreaker.
She also needed to win a protest just to get to the tiebreaker.
And there are two events left on the final day of gymnastics at the London Olympics.
Raisman, the 18-year-old U.S. team captain, originally finished fourth on the balance beam, but the USA protested her level of difficulty marks. After a few anxious moments, the judges agreed with the U.S. position and placed Raisman in a tie for third with Romania's Catalina Ponor at 15.066. Then the tiebreaker kicked in, and Raisman was awarded bronze because of her execution score, 8.766 to Ponor's 8.466.
Raisman broke out into a huge smile and put her arms in the air after the announcement. Douglas, her teammate, felt the opposite emotion. Stone-faced, she had sat and watched her score of 13.633 be posted after a wobbly routine included a near-fall. She managed to stay off the floor only by wrapping both arms around the apparatus.
Had Russian star Victoria Komova not completely fallen off and scored 13.166, Douglas would have finished last among the eight competitors a day after finishing last on the uneven bars. This was her final event at these Games. She said the mental toll was harder on her than the physical one.
"I put my all into it," she said. "Overall, it's been a good journey."
Deng Linlin of China took the gold on beam and Sui Lu of China the silver.
Raisman has a chance at another medal later Tuesday in the floor exercise along with Jordyn Wieber.
The only two American men competing Tuesday — Danell Leyva and Jonathan Horton— finished out of the medal race in the high bar. Epke Zonderland of the Netherlands won the gold.
Douglas had acknowledged he was tired after the all-around and team golds. And she has had problems with focusing over time in the past. The whirlwind of praise, television appearances and Twitter popularity in the days following the gold caught up to her.
Still, her improvement on beam has been the biggest factor behind her rise from what national team coordinator Marta Karolyi called an average elite gymnast to now, a gold medalist.
In June, after finishing the first day of competition at nationals tied with Wieber, Douglas slipped on the balance beam. A year ago, Douglas would have struggled to manage her nerves after such a stumble. This time, she fought back.
"I think I've improved so much with the mental situation," Douglas said then. "When I fell, I was thinking, 'This is not going to be another Visas.' I got back up on the beam and I was so bad. I said, 'I'm going to stick everything.' I wanted to show I was a fighter and I was not giving up."
Last year at the Visa Championships, Douglas imploded, finishing seventh in the all-around. "She's a different Gabby than she was at last year's championships — mentally," Karolyi said a month ago. "It looks like she's maturing and not giving up very easily and if she makes a mistake she's able to regroup and turn the page. You must turn the page and continue the chapter. She was able to do that after the fall on the beam."
In nationals, Douglas finished just behind Wieber. In the next major competition, the Olympic trials, Douglas was first. And in London, she's been golden. Her consistency on beam was key as the Americans won the team title, the first by the USA since 1996, and her confident routine two days later gave her the all-around gold, a first for an African-American gymnast.
Before this summer, Douglas said her "beam was shaky and kind of kept me out of things." This made her work harder. "I was telling everyone, 'Don't count me out on beam just yet,' " Douglas said Sunday. "Because I am so capable and I'm so strong on beam. I was so happy to prove to everyone that I really am tough and I can really do this beam routine."
Monday after finishing last among eight competitors in the uneven bars final, tired Douglas vowed to finish on a good note on the event that's now a strength. She did, from eighth to seventh.