Tag Archives: Aly Raisman
Aly Raisman Wins Olympic Gold 2012
U.S. captain matched Gabby Douglas in gold medals, winning the title on floor exercise Tuesday. Add in the bronze on balance beam from earlier in the day, and she becomes the most decorated of the Fierce Five.
Good thing Raisman had such a big day because the rest of the Americans came up empty-handed. Douglas had another rough day, finishing seventh on balance beam after a fall. World champion Jordyn Wieber, voted most likely to leave the Olympics with the biggest haul, was seventh on floor and finishes without any individual medals.
Danell Leyva and Jonathan Horton were fifth and sixth, respectively, on high bar, leaving the U.S. men with only Leyva’s all-around bronze.
“I’m so happy, going home with two Olympic gold medals and a couple of titles under my belt,” Douglas said. “I’m so happy for Aly, she deserves to be up on that podium. She had a great beam routine and I’m so proud of her.”
Raisman may not have Douglas’ bubbly personality or Wieber’s resume but she is prized her for her steadiness, and that consistency paid off big in London.
Perhaps energized by her surprise bronze on beam, Raisman’s floor routine had an extra spark. Her tumbling passes were some of the most difficult, and she got such great height on them you could have parked a double-decker bus beneath her. Her landings were not only secure, one was so powerful it practically shook the floor.
Coach Mihai Brestyan was hopping up and down and pumping his fist as she finished, and even Raisman was impressed with herself, mouthing “wow” after she saluted the judges. When her score, a 15.6, was posted, teammate McKayla Maroney yelled “whoa!” so loudly from the stands it could be heard across the arena.
There were still five gymnasts to go, but none came close. When reigning world champion Sandra Izbasa landed her final tumbling run on her head, Raisman let herself exhale. And smile.
Catalina Ponor, the 2004 champion on floor, won the silver. Aliya Mustafina of Russia got the bronze, her fourth medal of the Olympics.
London Olympics 2012 U.S. Women’s Gymnastics Wins Team Gold Medal
The U.S. women captured the gold medal with an overall score of 183.596. Russia scored a 178.530 to take the silver and Romania won the bronze with a score of 176.414.
The 2012 U.S. women’s gymnastics team is composed of Jordyn Wieber, Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas, Kyla Ross and McKayla Maroney. According to the Olympic format, each team selects three gymnasts for each of the four apparatuses in the final — balance beam, uneven bars, vault and floor.
The 16-year-old Douglas performed in each of the rotations while Wieber was called on for the floor, vault and uneven bars. Raisman worked the floor and the beam, with Ross performing on the beam and the uneven bars. Maroney was the only U.S. gymnast with just one event but no one on the team registered a score higher than her 16.233 on vault. That score was the highest of all competitors in the team final.
Russia was the primary challenger for the U.S. team in middle stages of the competition but completely fell apart during the floor routine, with two gymnasts falling during their routines. After Russia’s mistakes, the U.S. team headed to the floor knowing three solid performances would likely win them the gold. Gabby Douglas, Jordyn Wieber and Aly Raisman delivered impressive floor routines to clinch the first team gold for the U.S. since the “Magnificent Seven” won in 1996.
