Aly Raisman: Underappreciated US Gymnast Will Dominate Women's All-Around
Aly Raisman wasn't the name on the tip of anyone's tongue heading into the Olympics, but she's the one who's going to get the job done for the U.S. women's gymnastics team in the women's all-around.
Leading up to the London Games, Jordyn Wieber and Gabby Douglas were the ones getting all the attention, according to the AP:
"Douglas did the cover of Time magazine. Wieber graced the front of US Weekly. When the entire team got together for a Sports Illustrated photo shoot, it featured Douglas in the middle flanked by Wieber and a seemingly "thrilled to be here" Raisman.
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Raisman is thrilled to be there, of that there's no doubt, but she's also the star of the show for the Americans. Her score of 60.391 during qualifications was second only to Russia's Victoria Komova—one of the favorites to win the event—who scored a 60.632, according to London2012.com.
While Raisman's emergence over Wieber is a surprise to most of us, it probably shouldn't be. After all, she was elected to be the team captain.
U.S. head coach Martha Karolyi isn't surprised, according to the AP report:
""Aly’s success today just proves that hard work pays off. She’s one of the most serious and hardest-working girls in training. So finally it came true, and she was able to perform at the (highest) level."
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And she's not done yet. Raisman has the right attitude and temperament—not to mention the right skill set—to defeat Komova and teammate Douglas in the women's all-around. Her low profile on the team has allowed her to sail under the radar into these games, and now that she's here, she is set to dominate.
While Douglas will certainly hog the airwaves with her mega-watt smile, Raisman will quietly go about her business and come home with the gold.
