Women's Olympic Gymnastics Results 2012: Team Success Should Be Main Attraction

Unfortunately for the United States women's Olympic gymnastics team, Jordyn Wieber's failure to qualify for the all-around event has overshadowed the team's stellar performance in London.

It comes as a surprise that Wieber won't be competing for the all-around gold medal, as she was one of the heavy favorites coming into the competition. Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas weren't expected to top Wieber in the all-around event, but they don't have to worry about their teammate down the road.

Most of the attention has been paid to Wieber's disappointing showing rather than her two teammates moving on to the all-around final. Many have been questioning the Olympic rule that allows just two competitors from each country to advance.

The rule is questionable, but it shouldn't be dwelled on. Raisman and Douglas should be the ones who are being praised and heralded. The world of United States gymnastics should be revolving around their collective brilliance in the qualifying round in which they posted scores of 60.391 and 60.265, respectively.

Those scores were the second and third-best behind Russia's Viktoria Komova's 60.632. Instead of beating the dead horse that is Wieber's elimination, we should be focusing more on the efforts of the team.

Of course, it makes for a compelling story when one of the top competitors in any event fails to progress. It's much easier to harp on the negative than on the positive, but the Olympics are not the time for that.

There are just amateur athletes (for the most part) who are trying to live out their dreams of achieving Olympic gold. The IOC and others involved do a great job of stressing positive energy, but it's hard for sports fans to consistently praise participants.

Wieber didn't make the all-around final, but she will have her opportunity elsewhere. Instead of continuing to analyze her loss, we should be looking forward to Raisman and Douglas competing against the best in the world.

Gymnastics has its moments when it is an individual sport, but there are plenty of occasions when the team effort needs to be stressed. Wieber's individual failure should not overshadow her teammates' dominance.