Aly Raisman Wins Gymnastics Bronze In Beam After Inquiry

Aly Raisman won her second medal of the Olympics, but not without some controversy.

Raisman originally finished one-tenth a point behind Romania’s Catalina Ponor, but was not given the difficulty score she expected and as a result the USA coach put in an inquiry with the judges. After review, the judges raised the difficulty level by one tenth to a 6.3, landing her in a tie with Ponor. However, since Aly had the higher execution score she won the tiebreaker and bronze medal. Perhaps this is some sweet justice for Raisman after she lost a tiebreaker for the bronze in the all-around competition to Russia’s Aliya Mustafina. Raisman was clearly thrilled to be on the winning side of a tie this time around.

The other American on beam, Gabby Douglas, fell during her routine and as a result finished seventh among the competitors, ending her hopes for a third medal at these Olympics. It was the 14th routine for Douglas in London.

The Chinese took gold and silver and finished far above the rest of the gymnasts. Sui Lu, 2011 world champion was first up and set a score that few other gymnasts could match with a 15.500, but her teammate, Deng Linlin, topped it with a 15.600. Both women had an execution score of 9.0, but Linlin, the 2009 beam world champion, had a slightly higher degree of difficulty to her routine.

This marks the end of the London Olympics for Douglas, but we will see Raisman once more later on Tuesday in the floor competition.

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