It was another late night of Olympics watching but well worth the lack of sleep. Nastia too the gold in the All Around, putting her in company with legend Mary Lou Retton and Carly Patterson. Shawn Johnson poured on her usual power to clinch the silver from China's Yang Yilin who seemed headed for gold.Americans Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson were considered gold medal material going into the Olympics, but troubles in the team competition and the success of the Chinese girls meant that there was no shoe-in. After two rotations in the All Around competition, China's Yang Yilin was ahead in points, but not by too much. Nastia's Bars routine scored a 16.65, closing the gap considerably.
The last two events, Beam and Floor, were both strong ones for the Americans and they did not disappoint. Nastia's Beam routine was almost perfect. Shawn's was as powerful as ever, with only one visible balance check. Yilin's was noticeably shakier. On Floor, Yiling's routine had the same difficulty factor as Nastia's, so she could still have the gold. A couple of wobbles lowered her score. This left the door open. Nastia's floor routine was flawless. Shawn's was great too.
It will be a very sleepy-eyed day on Friday, having stayed up to past 1 a.m., but it was worth it. Gymnastics moments like that don't come around very often.
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