Gabby Douglas' Gold medal winning performance (SLIDESHOW)
LONDON (AP) - Make it a pair of Olympic gymnastics gold medals for Gabby Douglas, who added the all-around title Thursday to the one she won with the U.S. team two nights ago at the London Games...
LONDON (AP) — Make it a pair of Olympic gymnastics gold medals for Gabby Douglas, who added the all-around title Thursday to the one she won with the U.S. team two nights ago at the London Games.
Douglas became the third straight American to win gymnastics’ biggest prize, taking the lead on the first event Thursday and never really letting anyone else get close. She finished with a score of 62.232, less than three-tenths ahead of Viktoria Komova of Russia. Aliya Mustafina won the bronze.
“I wanted to seize the moment,” Douglas said. “It hasn’t sunk in yet. Team finals hasn’t sunk in yet. But it will.”
Douglas brought the house down with her energetic floor routine, and U.S. teammates Jordyn Wieber, McKayla Maroney and Kyla Ross jumped to their feet and cheered when she finished. Douglas flashed a smile and coach Liang Chow lifted her off the podium.
Komova’s floor routine was impressive, as well, and she stood at the center of the arena staring intently at the scoreboard, her folded hands at her mouth. When the final standings flashed, her head dropped and she hurried to the sidelines, tears falling.
Douglas finished with a score of 62.232, about three-tenths ahead of the Russian.
Mustafina and Raisman finished with identical scores of 59.566, but the Russian got the bronze on a tiebreak. The lowest scores for both gymnasts were dropped, and the remaining three were added up. That gave Mustafina a total of 45.933 and Raisman 45.366.
“It’s really disappointing, but I’m really happy for Gabby,” said Raisman, captain of the U.S. team. “But it’s definitely really frustrating because we tied for third place. I was so close.”
