USA women dominate in qualifying of Olympic gymnastics

USA Today

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LONDON - American Jordyn Wieber, the defending world champion, got knocked out of the all-around event final by her best friend and teammate, Aly Raisman, as women's gymnastics team qualifying began Sunday at the London Olympics.

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And that's a very good thing if you are cheering for the Americans. While Wieber might be out of the all-around, she stands third overall in individual qualifying, meaning the Americans are 1-2-3 with more qualifying session left Sunday night, including Russia and China.

But after three groups of teams went early Sunday, it was total domination for the USA, heavily favored to win the gold and looking for all the world as if it deserves the standing.

In qualifying, Raisman passed Wieber with a 15.325 on the floor, her signature event, and moved into the all-around lead with 60.391 points. Wieber stands third at 60.032. Both were in tears when they left the arena.

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Teammate Gabby Douglas finished second behind Raisman with 60.265 and will also compete in the all-around. Countries are limited to two competitors in the all-around finals.

No other competitor is higher than 57 so far.

Even so, as the team's recent history shows, the top spot on the podium isn't a given. The U.S. won worlds in 2003 and 2007 before earning team silver at the Olympics one year later. In both Athens and Beijing, the Americans had several last-minute injuries.

USA TODAY