Gabby Douglas of the U.S. won the gold medal in the Olympic women’s gymnastics all-around after leading from her vault in the first round of the final in London today.
The 16-year-old from Virginia, who was first in half of four parts in the event, beat Victoria Komova of Russia at the North Greenwich Arena. Russia’s Aliya Mustafina won the bronze medal in a tiebreaker over Aly Raisman of the U.S. after each finished with the same score.
Douglas had 62.232 points, beating the 17-year-old Komova’s score of 61.973. The U.S. has won gold in the event in the past three Olympics.
The Americans won the team event for the first time since the 1996 Atlanta Games this week, led by Raisman, the team captain, who performed the final floor exercise that sealed gold for the U.S.
Douglas' all-around gold medal marks the fourth time that an American woman has won the event, including the two previous golds won by Nastia Luikin (2008) and Carly Patterson (2004). Mary Lou Retton was the first American woman to win the all-around title in 1984. Douglas is the first African-American woman to win the title.
Jordyn Wieber, the all-around world champion from the U.S., failed to qualify for the Olympic all-around event, which is limited to two members from same nation. Wieber was part of the gold-medal U.S. team.
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