CHINA:These guys were phenomenal in their quest to win Gold.* They pulled ahead of the field and showed how dominant they truly are.* It was great to see them hit when it counted, to erase the demons of Athens and end up on top.It’s hard to choose a favorite routine from among them but my [...] CHINA: These guys were phenomenal in their quest to win Gold.* They pulled ahead of the field and showed how dominant they truly are.* It was great to see them hit when it counted, to erase the demons of Athens and end up on top.

It’s hard to choose a favorite routine from among them but my top picks would be…

• Chen Yibing on rings.* His strength was unreal but what took my breath away was his dismount.* Full-twisting double layout, which he opened up and flaired before landing with ease.** It was gorgeous.
• Huang Xu on parallel bars.* Clean, precise and a perfect landing.* Like Tim says, it was “gymnastics 101.”

The one thing that hampered my excitement a tad was hearing the comment of head coach Huang Yubin made before the Games began.* Al Trautwig reported that Yubin claimed he would “jump off the tallest building in Beijing if his team didn’t win the gold.” ** Perhaps this was taken out of context or has been exagerated in some way but if there is any truth to it at all, it sickens me.*** There is so much more to be said (about coaching, cultural expectations, perspective) but I’ll leave it for another post.* For now, let’s let the Chinese men glory in their incredible accomplishment. JAPAN: Hmmm.* It’s hard to know how to comment on their performance since I saw very little of it.* I think NBC aired one vault, a couple Parallel Bars routines and two routines on High Bar at most.** So I mostly know what I heard from the commentators.* Although I’ll admit that the Vault I saw was pretty lackluster, Parallel Bars & High Bar both looked good.* Perhaps the Japanese were not on their game last night but they must have done something right to nab the silver medal.** They certainly didn’t put any pressure on China but they still held their own. USA: Wow! What a night!* This was the kind of performance I was hoping for from the US Men but I have to be honest and admit that I didn’t really believe it would happen for them.** After all the negativity from the press, after all the drama with Hamms’ withdrawls, how could you not want these guys to pull off something big?*** What a thrill to watch.* My husband and I were on the edge of our seats for every performance.* It was incredible.** Highlights for me include…

• Jonathan Horton rocking every set.* The guy was just on fire.* It’s so fun to see someone have a night like that.* I hope he’s got a bit more of that left in him for the All Around final.
• Justin Spring’s high bar routine.* Unbelievable!* He flies so high, takes so many risks and he didn’t hold back at all.* And to stick a triple back dismount under that kind of pressure… it was breathtaking.
• And of course, Sasha Artemev pulling through when it counted the most.* After two rough routines just before him, the pressure was enormous.* Again, I’m sad to admit that I didn’t have much hope for him to hit that routine.* I just thought it would be too much for him.* I’m so glad I was wrong.** What a night for him.* Well done.
• David Durante up in the stands.* He seemed to have lived absolutely every moment with the team.* He deserves a medal with the rest of them.* He’s what an alternate should be.

So what about you?* What did you enjoy from the competition?* What were your thoughts? More...