USA Gymnastics: Women's Team Leaves No Doubt with Dominant Performance

Gymnastics is a fickle sport. The difference between winning and losing is often minuscule, which frequently leads to controversy. But none of those concerns existed on Tuesday as the United States women's team cruised to an all-around gold medal.

The star-studded American squad received a lot of attention leading up to the Games and—unlike the men's team—had no trouble living up to the hype. They beat out second-place Russia by more than five points, amounting to a blowout, with Romania coming in third.

Any concerns that existed before the competition began—whether it be the incredible amount of pressure or a potential letdown from Jordyn Wieber following her exclusion from the individual all-around—were quickly eliminated.

The United States dominated from start to finish, posting terrific scores across every discipline to pull away from the pack. It was everything fans throughout the country could have possibly expected, if not more.

Of course, the event didn't air live in the United States and will instead be seen on primetime on tape delay, but the ratings should still be through the roof. Gymnastics is one of the most popular Olympic sports, and an American victory makes it all the better.

Gabby Douglas led the way once again. She competed in all four events and reaffirmed herself as a strong contender in the upcoming individual competition. Her rise over the past couple months has been astonishing.

However, she couldn't have done it herself. Wieber overcame her personal disappointment to post some tremendous numbers of her own. It would have been easy for her to mentally check out, but she stepped up when it mattered most.

Aly Raisman, who earned the second individual all-around spot for the U.S. ahead of Wieber, put together a strong floor routine. It should really help her confidence moving forward after hearing all the talk about Wieber in recent days.

Kyla Ross and McKayla Maroney affirmed their presence during the competition. Maroney was especially impressive on the vault.

It all amounts to one of the deepest gymnastics teams the United States have ever had. Three of the most complete gymnasts in the world and two role players, so to speak, who are perfectly capable of picking up the slack when needed.

The "Fab Five" didn't just beat the competition, they decimated it. And now, future teams will always be compared to the one that starred in London.

Perhaps that wouldn't have been true if they didn't win gold, but they did. Easily.