Have Rio's U.S. Gymnastics Darlings Already Arrived? Meet Katelyn…

WORCESTER, Mass.—None of the stars from the "Fierce Five," the highly meme-able gold medal team from the London Games, competed in Worcester for the American Cup last weekend. The American Cup is the only international gymnastics competition held in the U.S., but these girls are still on the final leg of London promo:…

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How Aly Raisman, The Steady Teammate, Won Individual Gold

On the final day of Olympic gymnastics, American Aly Raisman broke through—winning bronze on the balance beam and then gold, decisively, on the floor. Till now, Raisman had been mainly celebrated for her consistency and leadership: a steady competitor under pressure, with a record of team success and individual…

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Gymnastics Event Finals, Day One: Live By The Vault, Die By The Vault

Today was supposed to be the coronation of McKayla Maroney as the world's best female vaulter. She had dominated the event since making her senior debut a year ago, winning the world championship title in Tokyo. (There was even a completely unprovable, likely fan-generated rumor that the USOC was pressuring Martha…

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Gabby Douglas's Beam Performance Gives Us The Defining Photo Of The…

I'm just not certain how sports photography gets any better than this. Greg Bull of the Associated Press deserves every Sports Photo of the Year Award coming his way in a few months' time. Gabby Douglas gave a historic performance today in the women's gymnastics all-around, and this is a photo worthy of that…

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Women's Gymnastics: Gabby Douglas Leaves The Rest Of The World Behind

Where the Olympic men's gymnastics all-around final had been a gradual, predictable victory for favorite Kohei Uchimura, the women's final came down to the last routine and the last score. When the tabulation was done, Gabby Douglas of the United States took the title, becoming the first woman of color to do so.

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What The Jingoists Are Saying Today: "Suck it Russia! 'If You Don't Like…

I honestly don't even know what that means. Is it directed at...Russia? Is Russia currently in the United States? If so, has it expressed displeasure with being in the United States? Why is it in quotes? Is it an oft-quoted saying? Now directed at Russia? So many questions. But let's move on to what can never be…

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The U.S. Already Had Gold Locked Up After This Disaster From Russia's…

Despite NBC's odd penchant for showing crying gymnasts, the rather amazing image you see above (taken by AP staffer Matt Dunham) didn't make it to air last night. It's the Russian team reacting to the shock of world champion Ksenia Afanasyeva inexplicably falling onto her face on the closing tumble of her floor…

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Relive McKayla Maroney's Phenomenal Vault In Super-Slow Motion

While judges found room for deductions for which it seems nobody else can, McKayla Maroney's vault early in today's women's team gymnastics final was still strong enough to set an unstoppable pace that resulted in the United States taking gold. (It wasn't a surprise she nailed the vault, though, if you've been…

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