Wieber out of Olympics gymnastics all-around; U.S. team’s mettle tested
LONDON – The U.S. women are atop the Olympic gymnastics standings, as expected, with little standing in their way – except themselves.
More than the Russians, Romanians and Chinese, the biggest challenge for the gold medal might come from how they deal with world champion Jordyn Wieber’s failure on Sunday to qualify for the all-around final. Wieber was bumped by her best friend on the very last routine.
"I’m definitely worried," team coordinator Martha Karolyi said. "You try to find words … what do you say? But the fact is the fact. She did her best. She was edged by her teammates."
A heavy favorite for gymnastics’ biggest prize – and the attention and riches that go with it – Wieber lost her chance with a series of uncharacteristic mistakes. She wound up with the fourth-best individual score in qualifying, but countries are limited to two gymnasts in the all-around and event finals, and pal Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas were ahead of her.
Russia’s Viktoria Komova, runner-up to Wieber at last year’s world championships, finished ahead of all three Americans.
Wieber, 17, sobbed as she made her way through the mixed zone, so distraught she couldn’t speak to reporters. Later on Twitter, she thanked fans for "all your love and support."
"I am so proud of our team today and I can’t wait for team finals!!" she wrote.
It could be a historic competition for the Americans, who breezed to the top of qualifying with a score of 181.863 points and then waited to see if Russia, Romania or defending Olympic champion China could match it.
No one came close. Russia, runner-up to the U.S. at the world championships, was 1.4 points back (180.429) while China (176.637) and European champion Romania (176.264) were well behind.
"We knew the Americans were going to be up there," said Rebecca Tunney of Britain, which was in the same qualifying session as the United States. "They are going to be unbeatable."
Scoring starts from scratch in Tuesday’s team finals. The Americans are the strongest team from top to bottom – if they can get their heads around Wieber’s woes.
After congratulating Raisman, Wieber rushed off to try to compose herself – unsuccessfully. Her teammates were similarly stunned, with Raisman looking particularly shocked.
"I was really surprised, and I feel awful because she wanted it so bad," Raisman said. "But she should still feel proud because she’s an Olympian. We have to stay calm and focused on team finals."
The Americans have only one Olympic title, winning it in 1996 with the Magnificent Seven. They arrived at the last two Olympics as world champions, only to leave without gold both times. But this team is stronger than the 2004 and even 2008 squads.
WEIGHTLIFTING
North Korea’s Om Yun Chol said he wanted to lift a big weight and make the other athletes nervous. He definitely nailed that strategy.
Om, standing all of 5 feet and weighing 123 pounds, won a gold medal by confidently lifting an Olympic-record 370 pounds in the clean and jerk.
Only a handful of people have lifted more than three times their body weight, and this one came out of nowhere.
Om was in the "B" group with lower-ranked competitors and lifted weights of 160 and 165 kilograms on his first two attempts early in the day. He got the crowd roaring when it was announced he would go for 168 kilograms, the Olympic record.
Among the few lifters who have cleared three times their body weight are Halil Mutlu and Naim Suleymanoglu, also of Turkey, known as the "Pocket Hercules."
ROWING
A rower from Niger captivated the crowd when he trudged to the finish in last place in a single sculls repechage.
With the packed grandstand cheering him on at Dorney Lake, 35-year-old Hamadou Djibo Issaka pushed though the pain and found enough energy to finish nearly 1 minute, 40 seconds behind the winner.
After hearing the finishing horn, he slumped in his boat, totally spent. After a few seconds, he lifted his head and saluted the crowd while wearing a wide grin.
Djibo Issaka learned how to row only three months ago and has a technique generously described as crude. He received a wild card from the IOC Tripartite Commission, which allows each National Olympic Committee to enter up to five athletes for the Summer Games.
"It went well," Djibo Issaka said in French. "I passed the finish line. It was great."
BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Scattered showers sent fans at picturesque Horse Guards Parade scurrying for shelter during the second day of the tournament, dampening a festive mood but not deterring the second half of the field from making its 2012 Games debut.
Defending gold medalists Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser of the United States, and the No. 2 American women’s team of April Ross and Jennifer Kessy each won in straight sets.
VOLLEYBALL
So far, so good for the defending champion U.S. men’s team, which opened by sweeping Serbia behind Matt Anderson’s 18 points. Captain Clay Stanley added 13 points in the 25-17, 25-22, 25-21 victory at Earls Court.
EQUESTRIAN
Zara Phillips, the granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, wowed the home crowd and a few relatives in her Olympic equestrian debut.
Phillips, 31, registered a slight mistake on her appropriately named horse, High Kingdom, and earned 46.1 penalty points at Greenwich Park, placing her 24th out of 74 riders with two disciplines to go in the evening dressage competition.
Her grandfather, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, and her mother, Princess Anne, watched as Phillips put High Kingdom through the paces of a standard dressage test to demonstrate the horse’s obedience.
DIVING
Wu Minxia and partner He Zi won the first diving gold medal of the games, moving China one step closer to a sweep of the eight events in London. They led the 3-meter synchronized event throughout the five-dive round and totaled 346.20 points.
Abby Johnston and Kelci Bryant finished second with 321.90 to gain the first synchro medal for the U.S. and end America’s diving medal drought that extended to Sydney in 2000.
Emilie Heymans and Jennifer Abel earned the bronze for Canada’s first medal of the games.
ARCHERY
South Korea won the women’s team gold medal for the seventh straight time, posting a 210-209 victory over China.
BASKETBALL
Pau Gasol had 21 points and 11 rebounds to carry Spain to a 97-81 victory over China in an Olympic men’s opener. Spain lost to the United States in the gold medal game in 2008.
Yi Jianlian of the Washington Wizards had 30 points and 12 rebounds for China.
CYCLING
Marianne Vos of the Netherlands won the gold medal in the women’s road race in a rain-drenched sprint, leaving Britain’s Elizabeth Armitstead with silver and the home country’s first medal of the games.
TRACK AND FIELD
Paula Radcliffe’s hopes of finally winning an Olympic medal are over, with a foot injury forcing one of the greatest female distance runners to withdraw from the games.
The 38-year-old Briton holds the marathon world record but has failed to win a medal in four previous games. In London, she won’t even make it to the starting line. A left foot injury flared up during the past month.
TENNIS
Maria Sharapova won her Olympic debut indoors, beating Shahar Peer of Israel 6-2, 6-0, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and David Ferrer were among the seeded winners on the men’s side at Wimbledon.
