US Women's Gymnastic Olympic Team 2012: 3 Events That Present Biggest Challenge

While there will be few areas where the U.S. women's gymnastic team struggles, there are three events that could cause some concerns.

Team USA easily won gold at the World Championships last year, and that makes them the odds-on favorites in the London 2012 Olympics.

They are led by 16-year-old Jordyn Wieber, and she figures to have a strong Olympic Games. However, the Americans don't have a favorite in every event.

The following are either Team USA's weakest or most highly contested events:

The Bars

Gabby Douglas will be America's hope for gold in this event, but 2011 World Champion Viktoria Komova of Russia is the clear favorite. Douglas will need a stirring and stellar performance to medal—let alone challenge Komova for the gold.

If Douglas does produce such a performance—which she is capable of—the Americans could be approaching legendary status. Check out this great routine from Gabby on the bars:

This is one of the events that would prevent a clean sweep of the gold medals in gymnastics for the USA. But Gabby's recent performances should make American fans feel a little better.

The Beam

Komova is another strong contender here, but Sui Lu of China has to be considered the favorite. She is the gold medalist from the 2011 World Championships and clearly the most talented athlete in this event.

She'd almost have to stumble to allow anyone else into the top spot.

Douglas is again the American with a shot at a medal in this event. She is solid on the beam, but I believe this is perhaps the weakest event for Team USA.

Here is Gabby performing on the beam:

Sui has such a hold on this event, it will be very difficult to wrestle it away from her.

Vault

Team USA has a great shot at winning gold in the vault. McKayla Maroney is the favorite here, and I wouldn't at all be surprised to see her take the top podium spot.

Here is Maroney on Day 2 of the U.S. Olympic Trials:

But you still can't count out 37-year-old Oksana Chusovitina of Germany.

She is old enough to be most of her competitors' mother, but she is a formidable contender. She won the silver medal at Beijing in 2008, and she is obviously still competing at a high level.

What a story it would be if Chusovitina were to capture her first individual Olympic gold medal at 37 years old. Team USA will be hoping to deny her that joy, but we'll have to see how all of the events play out.

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