Beijing Olympic Games

The final analysis: Chinese were better

By Dominique Dawes, Yahoo! Sports

BEIJING – Amid all the talk focused on the underage controversy and Martha Karolyi’s allegation of sabotage prior to Alicia Sacramone’s beam routine, the fact of the matter is this: The Chinese women’s gymnastics team stayed composed in the team final and deservingly won the gold medal on Wednesday.

The Chinese women, who have always been known for performing near textbook-like gymnastics, showed they now have the mental toughness to back it up in defeating the world champion United States.

Led by veteran Cheng Fei, China was in command from its very first event, the vault. Cheng performed one of the most difficult vaults in the competition – a Yurchenko two-and-a-half twist – and she went for the stick before settling for a small step. That battle on her landing set the tone for the Chinese.

As Cheng landed, her knees buckled slightly, resulting in a deeper squat than she would have liked, so she pulled her shoulders up over her hips to avoid sitting on her behind. Imagine if Cheng, China’s team captain, had faltered on the first event. That could have been the difference between dominance and defeat. If she would have wavered on that split-second decision, I would likely be writing about the American women winning gold. However, Cheng came through.

China went on to dominate the uneven bars, where judges look for vertical handstands, straight body lines and clean form. The Chinese accomplished all of that and did so almost effortlessly. He Kexin, China’s bar specialist, anchored the team and, unlike the preliminary competition where she fell from the bars on a simple move, showed no signs of pressure.

“That mistake made me realize that I need to have more confidence for the team final,” He said. “I was awarded a second chance to compete in the final … Before the competition started, I shouted twice to boost my confidence.”

With nearly a point separating them from the U.S., the Chinese should have felt a little less pressure, but Cheng fell from the beam, giving the Americans an opening to capitalize on a major deduction. The U.S. responded by faltering on the beam and floor, and China went on to clinch the victory in the floor exercise, an event in which it has been long admired for its artistry and flexibility. Backing up its elegant dance moves with impressive tumbling passes, the Chinese had the hometown crowd chanting its approval after every rotation.

“I’m so excited because it’s in my home country and in our capital, Beijing,” head coach Lu Shanzhen said. “Every gymnast has the same wish.”

The dominance of the Chinese women is only beginning. More young girls will be filling gymnastics gyms in China to follow in this gold medal team’s footsteps. Lu eagerly awaits that inevitable rise in popularity. The competition should be worried.

The Chinese women are now the full package. They have combined their high difficulty skills with an unshakable mental toughness, and those were the reasons why they won their first team final gold on Wednesday.