LONDON – Barely an hour after needing a protest to win a bronze in the balance beam, American gymnast Aly Raisman won her second medal of the day with a gold in the floor routine.
Raisman performed a near-flawless routine on the floor, perfectly landing several high-spinning moves. When she was done, the sold-out crowd at the North Greenwich Arena roared its approval. Coincidentally, the woman she knocked out of the bronze on the beam – Romania’s Catalina Ponor – finished second with a strong performance of her own that followed Raisman’s. When Ponor received only a 15.200, well below Raisman’s 15.600, the cheers that serenaded Raisman turned to disappointed boos.
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For the Olympics, Raisman took three medals, including the team gold last week.
Raisman’s American teammate, Jordyn Wieber, whose Olympics have been a roller coaster, finished seventh. Wieber, who was left out of the all-around competition despite finishing fourth, struggled in her lone event Tuesday with wobbly landings and was given a .100 penalty deduction. She finished with a 14.500 and leaves the Olympics with only the team gold despite high hopes.
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