Gymnastics | featured news

Six-time Grammy winner Taylor Swift will perform at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards next month. But she won't be the only gold winner in the room. The U.S. Women's Gymnastics team - known as the Fierce Five - will be presenters at the Sept. 6 show. Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney, Alexandra Raisman, Kyla Ross and Jordyn Wieber won the women's team gold medal at the Olympics this month and have been on a whirlwind tour ever since that included the couches of Jay Leno and David Letterman.

Aly Raisman added a gold and a bronze to the United States’ medal count, but her bronze only came after judges re-counted her score in the balance beam final.

The Americans lived up to their considerable hype and then some Tuesday night, routing silver medalist Russia and everybody else on their way to their first Olympic title in women's gymnastics since 1996. Their score of 183.596 was a whopping five points ahead of Russia and made their final event, floor exercise, more like a coronation. Romania won the bronze.

The Chinese shake off their poor qualifying effort to repeat as champions. Japan, which originally finished fourth, wins an appeal and claims silver. Britain is third to win its first medal since 1912.

Here's what to watch for at the London Olympics on Monday: 1. SWIMMING: There are four finals, with Ryan Lochte going for a second gold in the men's 200 freestyle. The less successful Michael Phelps - a phrase many are unaccustomed to hearing - will also be in the pool elsewhere; 2. GYMNASTICS: The first gold medal will be awarded in the men's team final...

American Jordyn Wieber, the reigning world and national gymnastics all-around champion, did not advance to the all-around finals in today’s qualifying. Aly Raisman shocked everyone by taking the top spot overall. Gabby Douglas was second, Wieber third. Only two gymnasts from one country can advance.

Even their falls came at the right time. The U.S. men's gymnastics team was in first place overall in team qualifying after the two of the three subdivisions contested Saturday, ahead of the favorites from Japan, the defending gold medalists from China and the hometown squad from Britain.

The British men sure know how to kick off a party. The host country, which was only good enough to send two gymnasts to Beijing four years ago, upset Olympic champion China and took the early lead in qualifying Saturday at the London Olympics. A spectacular pommel horse by Louis Smith capped the day for the British, who finished almost 2.5 points ahead of China with at a total of 272.420.

Ten years after finishing fourth at the Sydney Olympics, the U.S. women's gymnastics team received the third-place prizes that were stripped from China because a member of that team was found to be underage.