Home » Sports » Gymnastics
Gymnasts get it 'perfect' when it mattered
Source: Agencies |
August 1, 2012, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHEN Yibing couldn't quite help himself. He needed to gloat. A little at least.
When asked how a team that looked like a bit of a mess, at least by its lofty standards, in men's gymnastics during qualifying on Saturday could turn it around so suddenly and win a second straight Olympic gold so convincingly on Monday night, Chen smiled and smacked his hands together.
"Perfect!" he said in English.
China hardly looked like its normal efficient self as it bumbled through qualifying on Saturday. It hardly mattered on Monday.
Its total of 275.997 left it well clear of the field and means China has now won three of the last four Olympic titles.
The uncharacteristic miscues that marred its preliminary round, when it finished sixth, vanished. The Chinese were their typical steadily spectacular selves.
"Our coach and our fellow colleagues created a history," Chen said. "In the future we will have more new rising stars."
Though the 27-year-old Chen is unlikely to be around when the games head to Rio de Janeiro in 2016, there's another crop right behind him.
The only team besides China that seemed capable of rising to the occasion was Britain, which earned its first team medal in a century by grabbing bronze.
It felt like something considerably shinier to the host nation, which had been pointing toward this meet from the moment London was awarded the games seven years ago.
The last time the Brits had medaled in the team competition came in 1912, when they earned bronze a few months after the Titanic sunk.
"The beauty of what we've got is that this team isn't a one-hit wonder," said Britain's Louis Smith, the team captain and unquestioned leader.
Still, while the British have closed the gap between themselves and the rest of the sport's elite, one thing remains clear. Nobody beats China when Olympic gold is on the line.
The Brits, with Prince William and Harry cheering them on and Union Jacks flying throughout the O2 Arena, leaned on Smith early then relied on their own rising stars to climb into third and cement themselves as an emerging power in a sport long considered an afterthought.
"It's a beautiful day for the sport of British gymnastics," Smith said.
"There's so much depth in the squad. And now everyone's going to be even more motivated than ever."
The Japanese needed a little help from the judges to earn silver.
The US, so spectacular during qualifying, faded to fifth.
When asked how a team that looked like a bit of a mess, at least by its lofty standards, in men's gymnastics during qualifying on Saturday could turn it around so suddenly and win a second straight Olympic gold so convincingly on Monday night, Chen smiled and smacked his hands together.
"Perfect!" he said in English.
China hardly looked like its normal efficient self as it bumbled through qualifying on Saturday. It hardly mattered on Monday.
Its total of 275.997 left it well clear of the field and means China has now won three of the last four Olympic titles.
The uncharacteristic miscues that marred its preliminary round, when it finished sixth, vanished. The Chinese were their typical steadily spectacular selves.
"Our coach and our fellow colleagues created a history," Chen said. "In the future we will have more new rising stars."
Though the 27-year-old Chen is unlikely to be around when the games head to Rio de Janeiro in 2016, there's another crop right behind him.
The only team besides China that seemed capable of rising to the occasion was Britain, which earned its first team medal in a century by grabbing bronze.
It felt like something considerably shinier to the host nation, which had been pointing toward this meet from the moment London was awarded the games seven years ago.
The last time the Brits had medaled in the team competition came in 1912, when they earned bronze a few months after the Titanic sunk.
"The beauty of what we've got is that this team isn't a one-hit wonder," said Britain's Louis Smith, the team captain and unquestioned leader.
Still, while the British have closed the gap between themselves and the rest of the sport's elite, one thing remains clear. Nobody beats China when Olympic gold is on the line.
The Brits, with Prince William and Harry cheering them on and Union Jacks flying throughout the O2 Arena, leaned on Smith early then relied on their own rising stars to climb into third and cement themselves as an emerging power in a sport long considered an afterthought.
"It's a beautiful day for the sport of British gymnastics," Smith said.
"There's so much depth in the squad. And now everyone's going to be even more motivated than ever."
The Japanese needed a little help from the judges to earn silver.
The US, so spectacular during qualifying, faded to fifth.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
