The gold medal finals in the individual gymnastics disciplines are underway on Sunday at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. There was a big upset in the finals for the women’s vault, as United States gymnast McKayla Maroney -- who was a favorite in the event and ahead on points with one vault left to go -- fell on her second attempt and, as a result, ceded the gold medal to Sandra Raluca Izbasa of Romania.
American McKayla Maroney Wins Silver In Vault, Shocked By Sandra Izbasa
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Maroney stumbled on her landing and sat down, resulting in a huge loss of points, dropping her behind Izbasa and into second place, where she would have to settle for silver. It was a very rare flub for Maroney, who falls on landings so infrequently that longtime observers couldn’t remember the last time it had happened.
(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Also of note was that Oksana Chusovitina -- who was a gold medalist in team gymnastics way back at Barcelona, in 1992 -- competed in the event. She is 37 and still going strong in her sixth Olympic games -- the first female gymnast to ever do so. She finished in fifth place in Sunday’s vault.
Maria Paseka of Russia took home the bronze medal in the event.
For a complete breakdown of the current medal count by country, visit Sports Illustrated’s medal count tracker.
For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation’s London 2012 Olympics Hub.
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