Aly Raisman: Disappointing Ending Does Not Overshadow Performance

Despite narrowly missing out on a bronze medal in the all-around competition, Aly Raisman's success will be tied to the 2012 Olympics.

Going into the Olympics, Raisman was overshadowed by teammates Gabby Douglas and Jordyn Wieber. Douglas lived up to expectations and took home the all-around gold. Wieber failed to qualify after finishing fourth behind two of her American teammates. 

London was supposed to be Wieber's time, but Raisman's performance in qualifying put her at the center of attention. 

For the second time in a week, a rule hurt the American gymnastics team.

The first rule knocked Wieber out of the all-around competition, because no more than two people from one country are allowed to compete.

Yahoo! Sports Martin Rogers explains the second rule that cost Raisman a bronze medal.

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"Regulation 4.4.2.1 states that a tie should be decided by dropping each gymnast's worst score on an apparatus."

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The new tiebreaker was established in June, and Raisman was unaware of the rule. When the scores were posted, she believed she would be receiving a bronze medal. She was disappointed when she found out she had lost a tiebreaker and would go home without an individual medal.

The rule will overshadow her performance for now, but she will be remembered for qualifying for the all-around performance. 

Great Performances

Raisman's performance was overshadowed by the ruling and her teammate's performance.

She had two of the strongest routines in the competition, according to NBCOlympics.com. Her vault put her in second after one rotation, and she was in good shape to medal. Her score of 15.900 finished behind only Douglas.

It looked like the two Americans would be battling for the gold all day.

Going into the final rotation, she trailed Russia's Aliya Mustafina for third place. Mustafina struggled on floor, while Raisman was spectacular in her routine. She scored a 15.133, which was more than five-tenths higher than Mustafina.

Had it not been for slight miscues on bars and the balance beam, Raisman would have easily taken home bronze.

Expectations

Even though she finished fourth in the all-around competition, she was not even supposed to make the event. 

Raisman put on a great performance in team qualifying to upset Wieber. The two gymnasts are not only friends, but they are also roommates. Both gymnasts handled the situation with great poise, and they came together to help the team win gold.

Now, the friends have something in common: Both were victims of the rules. 

Raisman's all-around performance was good enough to score third, and she should be proud of how she did. She came out of nowhere to make the finals, and then she performed at a high level.