Russia's Angelina Melnikova competes in the balance beam event of the artistic gymnastics women's team final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre in Tokyo on July 27, 2021. | Photo by Loic VENANCE / AFP
Tokyo, July 28: The Russian Olympic Committee(ROC) team comprising Angelina Melnikova, Vladislava Urazova, Lilia Akhaimova, and 2021 European all-round champion Viktoria Listunova shone through and broke the decade-old USA dominance to win team gold in artistic gymnastics at ongoing Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
ROC won gold by 169.528, adding to their men's team title on Monday. The USA won silver by 166.096 and Great Britain clinched bronze by 164.096.
The U.S. women's gymnastics team were considered by some to be unbeatable going into the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. But after team golds at both London 2012 and Rio 2016 - the Americans finished with silver after the withdrawal of Simone Biles following the first apparatus.
With the event going down to the final rotation, the brilliance of the gymnasts representing ROC shone through which helped them clinch the elusive gold.
Melnikova was clutch for the ROC, as she was the final gymnast to perform on the floor, easily scoring what she needed to confirm victory. The 2019 world all-around bronze medalist broke into tears after Olympic gold.
(To receive our E-paper on whatsapp daily, please click here. We permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)
