US Women's Gymnastics Olympic Team 2012: Where 2012 Team Ranks Among Best Ever

The United States women's gymnastics team took the 2012 London Olympics by storm, securing its place as the most dominant group in the sport's history.

Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, Kyla Ross and Jordyn Wieber were beautifully ruthless in the team competition, ripping out their opponents' hearts and smiling as they did so.

They posted an insane overall score of 183.596, more than five points better than silver-medalist Russia (178.530). In a sport that is often decided by tenths of points, that margin of victory is simply ridiculous.

The Americans started off the competition with a series of perfect vaults. Wieber and Douglas delivered perhaps the best performances of their careers in the event, while Maroney took it to another level, landing what could only be called the greatest vault of all-time.

From there, they casually destroyed their opponents in the other events, putting on a gymnastics clinic while their competitors wilted around them.

As a team, the Americans finished first in the vault, beam and floor exercise, and third in the uneven bars. Only three of their 12 scores dipped below 15 points, and Maroney's 16.233 on the vault was the highest score posted in any event.

It was a truly dominant performance and it sealed the Americans' status as the greatest gymnastics team of all-time. Their own head coach bestowed them with that title, as did Bella and Marta Karolyi, the legendary coaches who have led both Romania and the United States to Olympic medals.

While it may seem like lofty praise, to anyone who saw their display on Tuesday, there's no doubt about where the 2012 U.S. women stand in history.

They are alone at the top, the best team of female gymnasts ever assembled.