It's been a rough couple of days at the 2012 Olympic Games for Team USA's gymnastics squad, and things definitely didn't improve on August 6.
On August 5, McKayla Maroney entered as the heavy favorite to win gold on the women's vault, but fell short of the mark and walked away with silver instead, birthing one of the biggest upsets in recent gymnastic history. In men's competition, Jake Dalton finished fifth in men's floor exercise after a small error, and the US didn't even have a qualifier in the pommel horse, which has been the team's Achilles heel in London.
Unfortunately, it was more of the same for the US when competition resumed on August 6. Despite turning in two vaults that would have earned him a medal just about any other time, Sam Mikulak finished fifth following one of the strongest men's finals in some time. The gold went to South Korea's Hak Seon Yang. No one from Team USA qualified for the rings final, which was taken by Brazil's Nabarrte Zanetti, who shocked the field with his stunning routine to take gold.
But the most disappointing result of the day for Team USA involved the uneven bars final. Although all-around champ Gabby Douglas was by no means a shoo-in for a medal, the apparatus is her strong suit, and up until the finals, she'd done well at the Games. She performed last, and after a major error in her routine, she wound up dead last in the field of eight, behind gold medalist Aliya Mustafina of Russia. For her part, Mustafina delivering a beautiful, sparkling clean number that was absolutely worthy of the top spot. China's He Kexin, who beat out Team USA's Nastia Liukin for the gold at the Beijing Games, finished second.
The final chance for Team USA to add 2012 Olympic medals to their collection is August 7, during the final three apparatus finals. Tune in to watch as hopefuls Aly Raisman, Jordyn Wieber, Douglas, Danell Leyva and Jonathan Horton take a shot at the podium.
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