US Women's Gymnastic Olympic Team 2012: Women Set to Take Team Gold in London

The U.S. women’s gymnastics team is the favorite to win the team gold medal in today’s team finals.

After falling to host country China in the team competition in 2008, America has improved their overall competitive level and assembled a team built for success.

Those improvements were seen in the qualifying rounds. The U.S. posted a 181.863, more than five points higher than the defending champion Chinese, who scored a 176.637.

After failing to qualify for the women’s all-around event, many are wondering whether U.S. standout Jordyn Wieber will be able to shake the cobwebs and help the U.S. realize the team’s goal of winning a team gold medal.

"I'm afraid, to be honest," former U.S. coach Bela Karolyi said (via WLTX.com) about the gymnast he called the anchor of the team.

Physcologically, Wieber is dealing with a lot after losing to her best friend Aly Raisman. Wieber held the second spot of the rankings until Raisman’s final performance bumped her from contention. Under the rules, only two gymnasts from a country may qualify for the finals.

However, ESPN’s Bonny D. Ford believes Wieber will rebound from her disappointing elimination from the all-around competition to help lead the favored U.S. team to team gold.

The following Tweet by Wieber affirms Ford’s opinion of the young Olympian’s mindset heading into today’s team championship.

"

Thank you all for your love and support. I am so proud of our team today and I can't wait for team finals!! 

"

"— Jordyn Wieber (@jordyn_wieber) July 29, 2012"

Wieber may still be upset because of her shortcoming, controversy or not, but she still has a lot to compete for by helping the USA earn a gold medal. When a controversy arises because a country cannot send three of its gymnasts to the all-around final, you know they are ready for greatness.

If she is indeed ready to go and can compete at a high level, the U.S. will be a lock to take home the gold if they can duplicate their all-around performances from the qualifier on Sunday. Wieber, Raisman and Gabby Douglas all scored in the top four of qualifiers during that event.

 

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