Gymnastics: US Women Take...

Gold! It's the first gold for Team USA since 1996
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 31, 2012 12:44 PM CDT
US Women Take Gold in Gymnastics
U.S. gymnast Kyla Ross, right, hugs teammate Alexandra Raisman during the Artistic Gymnastics women's team final.   (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

The Americans lived up to the hype and then some, winning their first Olympic gold medal in women's gymnastics since 1996. Won it in a rout, too. Their score of 183.596 was a whopping five points ahead of Russia. Romania won the bronze. With three incredible vaults to open the evening, Jordyn Wieber, Gabby Douglas, and McKayla Maroney set a relentless pace that the Russians simply couldn't match.

Kyla Ross and Alexandra Raisman rounded out the five competitors for the United States, and the group watched Raisman's final score on the floor hit the board, then erupted in celebration. The Americans had come into the last two Olympics as world champions, only to leave without a gold. But this team is the strongest, top to bottom, the Americans have ever had, and the rest of the world never stood a chance. (More 2012 London Olympics stories.)

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