Aly Raisman Wins Gold and Bronze to Cap Off Her Olympics

Aly Raisman finished off her Olympics in style with a bronze on balance beam and a gold on floor exercise. (Emmanuel Dunand)

Women's gymnastics is an emotional sport full of ups and downs. If you have been following the U.S. women known as the Fierce Five, you have seen the drama unfold before you. Jordyn Wieber's tears at failing to qualify for the individual all-around opened the eyes of viewers to the pain of one less than perfect performance. The Fierce Five then came together to dominate the team all-around competition to win the gold. Gabrielle Douglas emerged as the face of the team with her bubbling personality and winning of the gold in the individual all-around. As the rest of the team continued to experience ups and down, Aly Raisman waited patiently for her time to come.

Raisman came into the Olympics somewhat under the radar. She didn't carry the high expectations that Wieber carried in. As Douglas emerged as the all-around star, the spotlight shined brightest on her. Today was the final day of women's gymnastics for this Olympics. It was also Raisman's time to perform on the balance beam and floor exercise.

Expectations weren't too high for Raisman on the balance beam. With other gymnasts favored more heavily, she just went about putting forth her best effort. Original results had Raisman finishing fourth, the same place she finished in the individual all-around after ending up on the wrong side of a tiebreaker. However, at the request of her coach, the judges reviewed her score. They found that some of her moves were indeed connected and gave her the additional points. Raisman's new score put her in a tie for the bronze medal. This time the tiebreaker favored her, and she was granted the bronze medal.

Full of confidence after winning the unexpected medal, Raisman decided to go out and leave it all on the mat in the floor exercise. Her routine had an extra crispness throughout. Raisman's difficult tumbling passes were smooth as silk, and her landings were as secure and confident as can be hoped for. Following Raisman's eclipsing finish, she saluted the judges and even mouthed "wow" in surprise. After her score of 15.6 from the judges was displayed, teammate McKayla Maroney yelled "Whoa!" so loudly that everyone could hear her.

Timing is so crucial to the sport of gymnastics. As has now been revealed, Jordyn Wieber has been competing injured. What is likely a stress fracture in her right leg clearly affected her ability to perform to the best of her ability. Gabrielle Douglas had long struggled with a lack of focus. She was able to put that behind her to win the individual all-around gold. Aly Raisman simply had to wait for her time to come. It turned out to be the last day of competition. Her floor performance left little doubt to how good she is. Raisman's patience was rewarded with three medals, the most of any of the Fierce Five. When it is all said and done, this has been an excellent performance by the U.S. gymnastics women. They should be proud of their efforts and how things turned out.