USA advances in men’s gymnastics

In the midst of arguably their finest team performance in a quadrennium, a familiar nemesis provided the USA men’s gymnastics team with a reminder that nothing comes easily.

As a positive sign for the US this time around, the pommel horse falls came in qualifications instead of the final. Especially at the Olympics. Here’s a look at 2016 #Olympic gymnastics results for Sam Mikulak, Chris Brooks, and the rest of the guys.

Despite some miscues on the pommel horse, the USA finished the preliminary round of men’s gymnastics in second place to two-time defending champion China and advanced to Monday’s team finals. We didn’t want to put out the best show that we’ve had in our lives.

“It gives me a lot to think about. Hopefully that statement will carry over and we can carry that momentum to Monday”.

Although the 27-year-old got back on the bar to earn 14.300, the fall summed up a poor day of men’s qualifying for Japan, who featured four survivors from their 2012 silver-medal winning squad but were upstaged by their Asian rivals, the United States and Russian Federation on the opening day of competition. China, which slogged to sixth in prelims, rebounded all the way to the top of the podium. While they flip, tumble, and spin their way toward repeat greatness, the men of Team USA -who completed their own qualifying round on August 6- are on hand to cheer them on. This group, they insist, is not that group.

Russia, Japan, Great Britain, Brazil, Ukraine and Germany round out the eight teams vying for team medals.

Samir Ait Said broke his leg during a grisly vault accident during qualifications and will not compete.

“It is catastrophic”, French teammate Cyril Tommasone said. Germany’s Andreas Toba injured his knee while landing during the floor routine. Whitlock, 23, won two Olympic bronze medals in London in the team and on the pommel horse.

“I cried like a little kid”, Toba told reporters.

Japan’s missteps were far less painful but almost as startling.

The 27-year-old Uchimura slipped on the pommel horse and fell off the horizontal bar, meaning he will not advance to the final on that latter apparatus where he is the reigning world champion.

“Personally, I have never plotted how to beat someone”, said Larduet after training at the Rio Olympic Arena on Wednesday.

Uchimura also took the gold of the high bar at last year’s World Championships, but fell off the bar during the qualification. The U.S. will also have six individual appearances in the event finals.

Normally, of course, such a disaster would hit a competitor’s score pretty hard – but luckily for Uchimura, he was only competing in the preliminary qualifiers for the all-around event, and was so far ahead that his progression to the all-around competition proper is not in doubt. Once finals start, all scores are reset to zero.

Brazil kept home hopes alive with Diego Hypolito in tears after his performance on the floor earned him 15.500, just behind Uchimura, with Arthur Zanetti, the Olympic rings champion in 2012, qualifying in fifth on the rotation.

Although he could win Cuba’s first Olympic medal in the sport, Larduet insisted he will not be focusing on his Japanese rival.

The stress didn’t get to China, which downplayed Japan’s rise at worlds and promised to be ready by Rio.

China delivering in the clutch is hardly new.

Team China, whose athletes scored gold at the 2012 #Olympics, qualified in first place for the team final with a 270.461.

Since 1994, Chinese men have won 10 of 12 world championship team titles and three of the last four Olympic golds on offer. “I’ve been to three Olympics. To perform like this, it’s a dream”.