All ProSports

The gold was there for the taking. All it required was a few mistake free performances from the U.S. womens gymnastics team and iot could have been all theres.

However, it was the host country China, which captured another team gymnastics gold for the second consecutive time, thanks to some clutch performances, and some untimely miscues from the U.S. team.

China led halfway through the competition, but both teams would finish up on the balance beam and floor exercise, events which were considered to be the Americans best two events. Then China opened the door when Cheng fell off the beam, giving the Americans the chance to lock up a gold medal.

All they needed to do was get through the last two events and the gold would have been theirs. It was just not meant to be.

Alicia Sacramone was first up for the Americnas on the balance beam,but was forced to wait some 15 minutes before beginning her routine. The time seemed to agitate Sacramones nerves as she paced back and forth waiting for her routine to begin.

Apparently, Sacramone let her nerves get the best of her, as she came down to land the somersault that opens her routine, her right foot slipped off the edge of the 4-inch beam. She tried to regain her balance by any means possible, flaining her arms, and twisting her body,but the effort proved futile and Sacramone fell off the beam to the ounds of a stunned crowd. Not only was the fall a penalty, but Sacramone never got the chance to do the blackflip losing even more valuable points.

Sean Johnson consoles Alicia Sacramone after her fall.

Sacramone never really got the chance to recover from her mistake either, as she was the first one to compete on the floor exercise which in the past has been her signature event. She won a world title in 2005, with her trademark spunk and flair.

None of that was present on Wednesday however, and as she was going through her second tumbling run her feet slipped out from under her and she fell flat on her back, costing her team any chance at gold.

“I guess it was a little too hard to get out of the funk,” she said, “and it affected me on floor.”

Her teammates didn’t help the cause either when both made minor mistakes in stepping out of bounds during their routines.

The Chinese took the floor needing to average just above 14 points to claim the gold medal and instead of playing it safe, they played it up to the raucous home crowd.

The three Chinese women, some of whom may or may not have been old enough to compete, performed flawlessly, obviously delighted by the cheers of their countrymen and the prospect of claiming the gold.

Though the silver medal is an honor it has to come as a dissapointment to an American teamthat has dominated gymnastics the last several years, but has failed to produce on the world’s biggest stage.

Some of the American gymnasts such as Shawn Johnson and Sacramone will get another shot at gold when the individual comptetitions begin.

Hopefully, for Sacramone especially, she will earn a small measure of redemption and capture gold for herself and try to erase the memories of Wednesday night.