Olympic Gymnastics 2012: Top Contenders Who Lived Up to Hype

The 2012 Summer Olympics have been full of action and intrigue in the gymnastics competition.

In particular, the women’s side of competition has been extremely exciting and there have been plenty of storylines surrounding the participants.

Since they were one of the favorites, many of the U.S. competitors had a lot of hype leading up to the events. Let’s take a look at which girls lived up to it.

Jordyn Wieber

Widely regarded as one of the best overall gymnasts in the world, Wieber certainly did not live up to the hype when she failed to qualify for the individual all-around finals.

However, she finished fourth overall in qualification, but was outshone by her teammates and done in by the ridiculous two-per-nation rule.

She made up for the disappointment by helping the U.S. to a gold in the team competition and put together a solid floor routine and excellent vault. Her uneven bar performance left something to be desired, but it did not hurt the team in the end.

Alexandra Raisman

Aly Raisman has done wonderfully so far in London. She slapped together a 14.933 on balance beam and 15.300 on the floor for the gold medalists in the team finals while finishing second in individual all-around qualifying.

She’s got a chance to win a second gold during the Games and would easily live up to the pre-Olympic chatter that the 18-year-old was receiving.

Gabrielle Douglas

Gabby Douglas is just 16 years old, but she’s a crucial member of the American gymnastics team.

The hype surrounding her would be an understatement, as Douglas appeared on the cover of TIME Magazine prior to the Olympics and America had high expectations for their young star.

She was a rock for the USA girls in the team finals, finishing within the top six of all events, including a solid second in the vault.

Douglas is the favorite in the individual all-around event and most other competitions she will be in later this week.