Gymnastics Artistic (Olympic)

Four inches wasn't enough for gymnastics powerhouse Simone Biles in the final of the women's beam on Monday at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Aiming for her fourth gold medal of the games, a wobble caused Biles to steady herself with her hands during her routine, which dropped her to third place and earned her the bronze instead.

Biles' teammate, Lauren Hernandez, laid down an excellent routine to capture the silver, while Sanne Wevers of the Netherlands took gold.

In earlier events, Eleftherios Petrounias of Greece won the gold in the final of the men's rings, while North Korea's Ri Se Gwang was the top competitor in the men's vault.

Biles and her U.S. teammate Alexandra Raisman will each have one more opportunity to add to their medal collections on Tuesday, in the final of the women's floor exercise.

Russia's Aliya Mustafina arrived at Sunday's uneven bars final in Rio de Janeiro looking to defend the gold medal she captured in the 2012 Olympics, and she did just that with a sensational routine that resulted in a final score of 15.900.

It was Mustafina's third medal in Rio. She had won silver in the women's team all-around competition and bronze in the individual all-around.

Madison Kocian of the United States claimed silver for her second medal of the Games after contributing to Team USA's gold-medal effort in the team all-around.

Here's a look at the scores from the final:

Place	Athlete	Country	Total	Difficulty Score	Execution Score
1	Aliya Mustafina	Russia	15.900	6.800	9.100
2	Madison Kocian	USA	15.833	6.700	9.133
3	Sophie Scheder	Germany	15.566	6.600	8.966
4	Elisabeth Seitz	Germany	15.533	6.600	8.933
5	Chunsong Shang	China	15.433	6.700	8.733
6	Jessica Lopez	Venezuela	15.333	6.700	8.633
7	Gabby Douglas	USA	15.066	6.500	8.566
8	Daria Spiridonova	Russia	13.966	6.100	7.866

And here's an overview of the updated medal count, which continues to feature the United States in the top spot:

After Venezuela's Jessica Lopez opened the proceedings with a strong routine that netted her a score of 15.333, the United States' Gabby Douglas took to the bars with eyes on her first individual medal of the 2016 Olympics.

She slipped up a bit, but, as USA Gymnastics noted on Twitter, she displayed impressive resiliency to net a total of 15.066 after posting the top execution score and third-best total in qualifying:

Douglas stalls on her in bar 1/1 pirouette and has to press up. The rest of the routine is clean. Double layout with a hop.

— USA Gymnastics (@USAGym) August 14, 2016

Former American gymnast Shawn Johnson East, who won gold on the balance beam at the 2008 Games in addition to three silvers, was among those impressed with Douglas' recovery:

Ok Gabby! That was a true FIGHT if I've ever seen one. Save of the century but finished strong. @gabrielledoug #Teamusa #Rio2016 #Gymnastics

— Shawn Johnson East (@ShawnJohnson) August 14, 2016

But Douglas couldn't hang in the medal conversation.

Mustafina was positively brilliant with the exception of a small step on her dismount, and her score was the one to beat, as the All Around noted:

Mustafina UB hit set (including the Komova that missed at the AA) and tiny step on Mustafina dismount

— The All Around (@theallaround) August 14, 2016

As it turned out, that hop wasn't enough to rip gold from Mustafina's grasp.

Though Kocian put forth a brilliant routine that included nearly flawless connections and a cleaner dismount, the judges scored her 0.067 points below the Russian champion.

The Associated Press' Will Graves pointed to one factor that separated gold from silver:

The difference? Mustafina had 6.8 D score, 6.7 for MadKo

— Will Graves (@WillGravesAP) August 14, 2016

Kocian may have fallen just short of the gold medal, but there is no shame in being labeled the runner-up to Mustafina.

As USA Today's Nancy Armour explained, Kocian validated her selection by national team coordinator Martha Karolyi thanks to a slew of stupendous displays on the bars:

https://twitter.com/nrarmour/status/764911069257199616

Factor in that she is still just 19 years old, and Kocian should continue to thrive in Team USA's gymnastics program.

Post-Competition Reaction

According to Graves, Mustafina told reporters she is going to "rest" once the Olympics conclude before deciding whether she wants to press on as a professional gymnast. 

"I wanted a little bit of redemption on bars, be up on the medal stand," Douglas said of her effort, per Graves. "But it's fine."

As for her future, Douglas didn't provide much clarity regarding her outlook for competitive competitions. 

"We'll see," she said, per Graves. "I got nothing for you."

Gabby Douglas, the 2012 Olympic women's all-around gold-medal winner, finished seventh in the uneven bars competition at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.

Russia's Aliya Mustafina won gold, the United States' Madison Kocian took home silver and Germany's Sophie Scheder earned bronze.

“Well, in my head I had pictured it a little bit differently,” Douglas said after the event, via Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports. “I think everybody does. You want to picture yourself on top and doing those routines and being amazing."

Douglas entered the Games looking to redeem herself after disappointing trials in July.

Leading into the Olympics, the 20-year-old acknowledged she was feeling pressure, per the Associated Press (via NBCOlympics.com): "Everyone makes mistakes, and after trials it was hard because there was a lot of negativity, but whatever. I feel like shutting it all the way [down], and I have to prove myself."

On Friday, Douglas talked about reacting to critics in the media and on social media.

"You really do have to be careful," Douglas said, per Eric Adelson of Yahoo Sports. "Even though you have to be you, have to be concerned with everyone else, because people are watching, looking up to you. You're in the public eye."

Though Douglas didn't succeed in her quest for an Olympic medal in the uneven bars, she had already brought home her second straight gold medal in the team event.

The United States' Simone Biles claimed a third gold medal of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, trouncing the field in the women's vault final with a score of 15.966.

Russia's Maria Paseka claimed silver with 15.253, just edging Switzerland's Giulia Steingruber into third place after two bold vaults.

Biles now has gold medals in the women's team event, individual all-around and vault and still is a favourite to win two more in floor and beam.

Here are the results from the medalists in Sunday's final:  

Medalists	Vault 1	Vault 2	Score
Simone Biles, Gold	15.900	16.033	15.966
Maria Paseka, Silver	15.266	15.241	15.253
Giulia Steingruber, Bronze	15.533	14.900	15.216

Full results at Rio2016.com. 

   

The first three gymnasts to go in the vault final made costly mistakes. North Korea's Hong Un-jong fell on her second vault before 16-year-old Canadian Shallon Olsen faulted on landing in her first attempt.

Oksana Chusovitina, 41, then over-rotated attempting a hugely challenging vault and was forced to do a forward roll on landing that led to big deductions.

Wang Yan of China, going fourth, produced a clean pair of vaults to go into top spot but was topped by Steingruber after the Swiss posted a score of 15.216.

India's Dipa Karmakar could not breach the medal positions, as she landed deep in her second vault going big with a tough attempt.

Russia's Paseka did, though, go into the gold-medal position after her two vaults despite splitting her legs in the first attempt.

Nonetheless, the seven gymnasts before Biles were always realistically competing for the silver medal.

Going last, the 19-year-old superstar opened with an almost perfect vault, a tiny step on landing the only error as she earned a 15.900 score.

A massive second vault then scored 16.003 to win Biles the gold by a huge margin.    

It took until Day 5 at the 2012 London Games for Team GB to really lift off, and so it has proved at the 2016 Rio Games. Wednesday was an incredible day for British athletes, with two gold medals won along with a further four bronze medals to record their most successful day at the Games to date.

The pick of the bunch had to be Max Whitlock's bronze in the gymnastics men's all-around. Gold it may not have been, but in one afternoon of competition, Whitlock wiped clean 108 years of history by becoming the first British man since 1908 to take a medal in the event.

That's over a century of upsets gone, more than a hundred years of failure forgotten. The slate has been wiped clean, and Team GB are getting themselves on a roll in Brazil.

Special mention has to go to diving pair Jack Laugher and Chris Mears, who became the first Brits to ever take a diving Olympic title. And Joe Clarke triumphed in the kayak K1 to take a surprise gold medal after a mesmerising performance as he slalomed his way down the course.

Laugher and Mears created history on Wednesday—an achievement in itself—but by rewriting it, Whitlock has edged them out to receive the most applause. It may only be by the finest of margins, but his bronze represents so much for the gains Britain is making in a sport where British athletes have been the underdog for too long.

Dominated by China, countries from Eastern Europe and Japan's Kohei Uchimura, gymnastics has almost been a forgotten sport for Britons. The expectation has been of Team GB turning up simply to make up the numbers.

The emergence of Beth Tweddle helped turn the tide, as did Louis Smith claiming silver on the pommel at the London Games. Incidentally, Whitlock took bronze in the same event in London.

The last?

Walter Tysall's silver in the London Games of 1908.

The event was held outdoors at Shepherds Bush 🌞
https://t.co/l3uHgIa0Dy

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 10, 2016

At World Championships, British gymnasts have started to gain recognition, and now Whitlock has put that onto another level.

The 23-year-old's success this time out has blown everything of out the water. The colour of Whitlock's medal isn't the important thing; it's the fact he has one around his neck that counts for so much. Britain doesn't produce all-around gymnasts—that's been the rule of thumb. Not anymore it isn't.

Rewriting history and creating it are two different things. They represent equally significant moments in the sporting landscape, but coming up against such a burden as a century of narrative can prove a significant pressure for any sportsman.

We see it across the board. For the England football team, it's the history and painful memories of penalty shootouts that so haunts them; at Wimbledon it used to be coming so close to emulating Fred Perry only for British players to fall at the semi-finals just as a nation started to believe in them.

What a night for @maxwhitlock1! First men's individual all-around medal for #GBR since 1908https://t.co/xdHhVRpLWr pic.twitter.com/AWcvKNU4FG

— Team GB (@TeamGB) August 10, 2016

Like Andy Murray did at The Championships in 2013, Whitlock has made minced meat of it all.

History creates expectation, and the more a team or country fails to repeat what the record books tell us they have in the past, so the anticipation and pressure grows. When something has never been achieved before, that hope isn't always there.

It was accepted that Team GB weren't supposed to be Olympic champions in diving. Sure, the talent pool is growing—excuse the pun—but as a developing sport, the disappointments aren't the same. The reaction for coming close in diving or other emerging sports is treated with more of a sense of it being inevitable.

#TeamGB on Day 5
🏅@joeclarkek1
🏅@ChrisMears93 @JackLaugher
🏅@sconway70
🏅@ssshooting
🏅@chrisfroome
🏅@maxwhitlock1 pic.twitter.com/JnEvdibX8k

— Team GB (@TeamGB) August 10, 2016

Because there is no year to associate with success, no benchmark, the pressure is a different kind. Now divers will have to overcome the standard that Laugher and Mears have set; now is the time when the pressure starts to grow. The pair have opened the Pandora's box that has enveloped British gymnastics since 1908.

When a country was once challenging at the top, the perspectives are different. For Whitlock, there was always going to be a positive will for him to succeed, yet as a sportsman, he would have been feeling the shadow of Walter Tysall looming large over him, just as any Briton had before. He had to step out of that and make a name for himself.

"My coach and I have been working so hard over the past four years," Whitlock would tell BBC Sport as the success sunk in. "We stepped out of London 2012, and I wanted to prove myself as an all-rounder, and I've done that. I feel I've completed that target now."

He's done so much more than hit a target; Whitlock has put British gymnastics back on the map.

Team GB and the threat the men and women carry was already well-known among gymnastics fans. Now more are going to be drawn to the sport. Britain are back winning medals, and that inspires the imagination. When those medals are coming after a century and more of endeavour, it feeds it all the more.

Yes, it wasn't a gold that Whitlock snagged, but he's broken the duck. He's changed the conversation.

What an incredible day it was for British athletes; what a historic one it was for gymnastics and diving.

Japan has won the gold medal in men's team all-around gymnastics.

Kohei Uchimura led the way as the Japanese bounced back from a fourth-place score during Saturday's qualifying round to win Monday's competition with a final score of 274.094 points.

Russia held off a charge from China to take the silver medal, while the Chinese settled for bronze.

The team from the United States had hoped to challenge for a medal after a disappointing fifth-place finish in London in 2012, but a series of miscues early in the competition and a fall by Danell Leyva from the high bar in the last event of the day landed the American team in fifth place once again, just behind Great Britain.

Women's artistic gymnastics kicked off Sunday at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, with the world's best gymnasts vying to qualify for the finals in the team, all-around and individual discipline events.

Four years after taking team gold in London, much of the anticipation entering the qualifying round focused on Team USA, led by three-time defending all-around world champion Simone Biles, 2012 Olympic all-around gold medalist Gabby Douglas and multitime Olympic medalist Aly Raisman.

Here is a rundown of the top finishers during each of Sunday's subdivisions with updated results available at the conclusion of each.

Full scoring information for every competing gymnast and nation is available at Rio2016.com.

Subdivision Results

Event	Top Finisher	Country	Score
Team	China	-	175.279
All-Around	Yan Wang	CHN	57.599
Vault	Un Jong Hong	PRK	15.683
Uneven Bars	Chunsong Shang	CHN	15.300
Balance Beam	Yilin Fan	CHN	14.866
Floor Exercise	Yan Wang	CHN	14.666

Event	Top Finisher	Country	Score
Team	Russia	-	174.620
All-Around	Seda Tutkhalian	RUS	58.207
Vault	Giulia Steingruber	SUI	15.266
Uneven Bars	Aliya Mustafina	RUS	15.833
Balance Beam	Catalina Ponor	ROU	14.900
Floor Exercise	Vanessa Ferrari	ITA	14.866

Event	Top Finisher	Country	Score
Team	Great Britain	-	174.064
All-Around	Rebeca Andrade	BRA	58.732
Vault	Dipa Karmakar	IND	14.850
Uneven Bars	Elisabeth Seitz	GER	15.466
Balance Beam	Flavia Saraiva	BRA	15.133
Floor Exercise	Amy Tinkler	GBR	14.600

Event	Top Finisher	Country	Score
Team	United States	-	185.238
All-Around	Simone Biles	USA	62.366
Vault	Simone Biles	USA	16.050
Uneven Bars	Madison Kocian	USA	15.866
Balance Beam	Simone Biles	USA	15.633
Floor Exercise	Simone Biles	USA	15.733

Event	Top Finisher	Country	Score
Team	Japan	-	172.564
All-Around	Mai Murakami	JPN	57.265
Vault	Shallon Olsen	CAN	14.950
Uneven Bars	Asuka Teramoto	JPN	14.900
Balance Beam	Marine Boyer	FRA	14.600
Floor Exercise	Mai Murakami	JPN	14.566

Recap

Once its turn during Subdivision 4 came around, Team USA more than fulfilled expectations. The United States moved into first place with a team score of 185.238.

Biles, Raisman and Douglas occupied the top three spots in the all-around. As USA Gymnastics noted, though, Douglas won't be going through to the all-around final since one country can only have two representatives.

Jordan Burroughs, who won gold in wrestling at the 2012 Olympics, wasn't surprised to see Team USA in first place:

Every Olympic Games we reload with greatness. This year is no different. Our women's gymnastics team is unreal! Keep killing it ladies!

— Jordan Burroughs (@alliseeisgold) August 7, 2016

2012 gold medalist Jordyn Wieber was happy to see a new generation of U.S. gymnastics carrying the torch:

So proud of @Aly_Raisman @gabrielledoug @MadisonKocian @Simone_Biles @lzhernandez02. They looked absolutely beautiful out there!

— Jordyn Wieber (@jordyn_wieber) August 7, 2016

Biles in particular was excellent. She nearly swept the qualifying subdivision, with the uneven bars the only apparatus in which she didn't place first. CBSSports.com's Zach Harper was inspired by the 19-year-old:

Where do we all buy Simone Biles jerseys?

— Zach Harper (@talkhoops) August 7, 2016

With Biles struggling in the uneven bars, Madison Kocian used the opportunity to set the pace for the rest of the field. Kocian was one of four gymnasts to win gold at the 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, and her score of 15.866 was enough to move her ahead of Russia's Aliya Mustafina, who won gold in the uneven bars in 2012.

Anything can happen in the final, but Team USA is looking in good shape to repeat its first-place finish in the team all-around competition, and Biles is in a class by herself and the strong front-runner to win the individual all-around.

After failing to medal as a team at the 2012 London Olympics, China got its 2016 Summer Games off to a strong start in Subdivision 1 by finishing first in all but one discipline.

The Chinese beat out Belgium in team qualifying, while Yan Wang and Chunsong Shang were first and second, respectively, in the individual all-around after the first group of the day.

Wang was especially impressive, which took Lauren Hopkins of NBC Olympics by surprise considering the 16-year-old finished a disappointing fourth in the all-around at the Chinese Nationals this year:

Wang Yan KILLED IT TODAY. After nationals, who would've thought?!

— Lauren Hopkins (@LaurenHopkins96) August 7, 2016

The only gymnast who prevented China from having a perfect qualifying subdivision was North Korea's Un Jong Hong, who dominated the vault with a score of 15.683.

She took gold in that event at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, and as pointed out by NBC's Samantha Peszek, her vault in qualifications wowed those in attendance:

The whole crowd just started clapping for Hong Un Jong's touch vault. It was THAT good. #amanar

— Samantha Peszek (@samanthapeszek) August 7, 2016

Ellis O'Reilly made history by becoming the first-ever Irish female gymnast to qualify for the Olympics, but she experienced a scary moment on the balance beam.

As reported by GymCastic, the 18-year-old landed awkwardly on her dismount:

Ellis (IRL) landed directly on top of her head and then her neck (a la on a short double tuck dismount off beam. Coaches do nothing.

— GymCastic (@GymCastic) August 7, 2016

O'Reilly appeared to be fine following the incident, but she finished last on the beam with a score of just 10.700.

China was undoubtedly the story of Subdivision 1, though, and if its performance is any indication, it has a strong chance to get back to the podium after taking team gold over the United States in 2008.

Several gold-medal contenders performed well during the second subdivision of the day, including several Russians who figure to be factors when the hardware is on the line.

Mustafina and Seda Tutkhalian finished first and second in the all-around qualifying for their group, which surprisingly knocked fellow Russian Angelina Melnikova out of contention.

While Melnikova won gold in the all-around at the Russian Cup and Russian National Championships this year, she did not reach the Olympic final since no country can have more than two representatives.

Mustafina won all-around bronze in 2012, and although she put herself in great position to qualify, she had her fair share of issues Sunday.

She was just 20th in the balance beam after two subdivisions and eighth in the floor exercise.

Peszek pointed out that Mustafina didn't appear to be in particularly good spirits:

Someone needs to give Mustafina a hug. She looks like she needs one right now.

— Samantha Peszek (@samanthapeszek) August 7, 2016

She did take first in the uneven bars, however, which is an event she won gold in at the 2012 Summer Games.

Italy's Vanessa Ferrari has yet to win an Olympic medal, but she has often been on the precipice in two previous appearances.

Ferrari had the best floor routine after two subdivisions, and Peszek was quite impressed by the 25-year-old's effort:

AMAZING floor set by Ferrari. They needed that! She used her music from 2006 when she won worlds. started w/ a strong double double

— Samantha Peszek (@samanthapeszek) August 7, 2016

Italy's team performance wasn't particularly strong overall, however, and it may be hard-pressed to reach the podium.

Russia won silver in the team event at the London Olympics, but with China performing better in qualifying and the United States looking like the team to beat, the Russians could be in for a battle to secure a medal.

While the first two subdivisions brought plenty of exciting moments in Rio, the atmosphere reached an entirely different level in Subdivision 3 when host Brazil took the floor and turned in a shockingly good showing.

Rebeca Andrade led the way, as the 17-year-old surged to the lead in all-around qualification past a strong group of Russian and Chinese gymnasts.

According to Peszek, Andrade's amazing performance gives Brazil a ton of confidence entering the medal rounds:

Brazil has the momentum of the competition. Rebeca Andrade explosive for her amanar. One step forward.

— Samantha Peszek (@samanthapeszek) August 7, 2016

Andrade was far from alone, though, as teammate Flavia Saraiva stirred the crowd into a frenzy in her own right.

The 16-year-old won bronze in the all-around at the Pan American Games last year and gold in the balance beam at the 2016 World Cup.

Saraiva's balance beam dominance continued Sunday, as she surpassed Romania's Catalina Ponor by more than two-tenths of a point to seize the top spot in the discipline.

Former United States Olympic gymnast Amanda Borden loved what she saw from Saraiva on one of the most pressure-packed apparatuses:

Brazil fans going crazy for their hometown sweetheart Flavia Saraiva! Nailed her beam set 15.133

— Amanda Borden (@AmandaKBorden) August 7, 2016

Brazil has never won an Olympic medal in women's gymnastics, but both Andrade and Saraiva established themselves as legitimate contenders.

While there are bigger names and more accomplished gymnasts in the field, the fact that the crowd will be firmly behind them could help the Brazilian duo make history in Rio de Janeiro.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.

Qualification for the men's artistic gymnastics competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place Saturday in Rio de Janeiro. The athletes who earn berths in the discipline and all-around finals will return to action on Monday to go for gold.

Kohei Uchimura of Japan entered the Games as the all-around favorite after winning each of the last six World Championships in the event. He didn't look unbeatable during his qualifying run, however, leaving the door open for the rest of the field, including Ukraine's Oleg Verniaiev.

Let's check out the top finishers from each subdivision during Saturday's action, which will get updated with the conclusion of every round. Each table will be followed by a recap of the results. For a complete set of scores for every gymnast, visit the Olympics' official site.

Subdivision 1

Event	Top Finisher	Country	Score
Team	Japan	-	269.294
All-Around	Kohei Uchimura	JPN	90.498
Floor Exercise	Kohei Uchimura	JPN	15.533
Pommel Horse	Andrey Likhovitskiy	BLR	15.233
Rings	Eleftherios Petrounias	GRE	15.833
Vault	Kenzo Shirai	JPN	15.283
Parallel Bars	Manrique Larduet	CUB	15.766
Horizontal Bars	Epke Zonderland	NED	15.366

There are two ways to view the qualification round for Uchimura. On one hand, he finished first in his subdivision in the all-around rankings, as expected. Yet he's going to need a much cleaner effort during the final in order to guarantee his spot atop the podium.

He's set such a high standard over the past handful of years that observers are usually left searching for even minor mistakes. Alas, Nick Zaccardi of NBC Olympic Talk noted the Japanese superstar's routine on the high bars today featured a rare major error:

Kohei Uchimura falls of high bar. Earned a medal on it at last four World Champs.

— Nick Zaccardi (@nzaccardi) August 6, 2016

Elsewhere, Eleftherios Petrounias of Greece put together an outstanding display on the rings to edge a highly competitive group that featured five gymnasts with a score above 15. Arthur Zanetti of Brazil, who won gold in the discipline four years ago, finished second in the group.

Petrounias, who won gold in both the World and European Championships last year, knows he'll need to take his performance up another notch in the final, as noted by the European Union of Gymnastics:

https://twitter.com/UEGymnastics/status/761972574712655874

Manrique Larduet of Cuba was the other big name in the opening subdivision. He shined on the parallel bars to top those standings and finished third on the horizontal bars. Japan's Ryohei Kato was the only one to come close to matching those pair of results.

Larduet's performance in the vault could end up dooming him in the all-around competition, though. Dawn Rhodes of the Chicago Tribune summed up that lackluster showing:

https://twitter.com/rhodes_dawn/status/761940190013325312

Despite the slip-up Larduet managed to qualify for the all-around competition, albeit in a disappointing 15th place.

Ultimately, Uchimura's fall may end up generating the most attention, but his chances of claiming all-around gold will go up if Larduet doesn't pick up the slack. He was viewed as one of the select few athletes with a chance to take down the Japanese favorite.

Subdivision 2

Event	Top Finisher	Country	Score
Team	United States	-	270.405
All-Around	Nile Wilson	GBR	89.240
Floor Exercise	Samuel Mikulak	USA	15.800
Pommel Horse	Max Whitlock	GBR	15.800
Rings	Samir Ait Said	FRA	15.533
Vault	Se Gwang Ri	PRK	15.433
Parallel Bars	Danell Leyva	USA	15.600
Horizontal Bars	Fabian Hambuchen	GER	15.533

The United States solidified itself as a contender for the team gold medal by besting Japan's score from earlier in the day during the second subdivision. It was truly a team effort with only one American, Samuel Mikulak, ranking in the top 10 of the individual all-around standings through two rounds.

Team USA received strong efforts from Mikulak and Jacob Dalton in the floor exercise, Alexander Naddour on the pommel horse and Danell Leyva on the parallel bars. Dalton also sat inside the top five of the vault heading into the final qualification round tonight.

Nick McCarvel of USA Today highlighted the team's more positive, confident attitude this time around, as relayed by Leyva:

Difference 4 years makes: US men embracing Olympic experience this time around for #Rio2016. Danell Leyva: pic.twitter.com/onHTaNTPPo

— Nick McCarvel (@NickMcCarvel) August 6, 2016

Great Britain's Max Whitlock didn't have his best all-around day. He lacked execution on the vault and horizontal bar while falling below his usual standards in several other disciplines. But he came up with a clutch effort to put himself atop the pommel horse list.

Like Uchimura earlier, however, all bad days are relative. Even though his performance leaves plenty of room for improvement heading into the finals, Nancy Armour of USA Today noted he likely still gave himself a chance at multiple medals:

https://twitter.com/nrarmour/status/762006669085769728

Unfortunately, one medal hopeful won't be able to go for gold after a gruesome injury. Samir Ait Said of France, who was the subdivision's top performer on the rings, suffered a severe leg injury while trying to land his vault.

Armour reported a loud crack was heard throughout the arena as Ait Said clutched for his left leg. He was immediately treated at the scene before getting stretchered off to receive further medical treatment. French teammate Cyril Tommasone explained how tough it was to push on after that, per USA Today.

"It was very difficult, very emotional," he said. "It's very hard for the French and for him. Very difficult."

The Rio 2016 organizing committee sent along its condolences after the injury:

https://twitter.com/Rio2016_en/status/762024482173255680

All told, the United States exited the second subdivision as the biggest winner, both on an individual and a team basis. Great Britain still has several medal chances, as well. But everybody's thoughts are surely with Ait Said as he begins the road to recovery.

    

Subdivision 3

Event	Top Finisher	Country	Score
Team	China	-	270.461
All-Around	Oleg Verniaiev	UKR	91.964
Floor Exercise	Rayderley Miguel Zapata	ESP	15.083
Pommel Horse	Oleg Verniaiev	UKR	15.566
Rings	Yang Liu	CHN	15.900
Vault	Denis Abliazin	RUS	15.416
Parallel Bars	Oleg Verniaiev	UKR	16.166
Horizontal Bars	Oleg Verniaiev	UKR	15.133

While all eyes were on Uchimura entering the games, Verniaiev stole the show in the third subdivision by qualifying first in the all-around with a score of 91.964.

Verniaiev beat Uchimura by nearly 1.5 points, and as Tumaini Carayol of Eurosport pointed out, the margin between the two gymnasts was even greater than the deduction Uchimura received for falling:

https://twitter.com/tumcarayol/status/762073119515443200

The 22-year-old Verniaiev finished just 11th in the all-around at the 2012 London Olympics, but he has progressed significantly since then.

The Ukrainian star won all-around gold at both the European Championships and European Games last year, and he proved capable of knocking off Uchimura Saturday, although he will need a repeat performance when the scores count toward medals.

Regardless of how he performs, former Welsh gymnast Harry Owen was taken aback by what he did in qualifying:

unbelievable routines from @Verniaiev_GyM 👌 #Rio2016 #ArtisticGymnastics

— Harry George Owen (@HarryGeorgeOwen) August 6, 2016

In addition to qualifying first for the all-around, Verniaiev was first in the parallel bars, and he qualified for the apparatus finals in the pommel horse, vault and horizontal bars.

Ukraine barely qualified for the team competition in seventh despite Verniaiev's efforts, which spoke to his teammates' struggles, per Rhodes:

https://twitter.com/rhodes_dawn/status/762069634350710785

While Verniaiev was fantastic individually, China stood out from a team perspective in Subdivision 3, as it qualified first for the team competition by barely edging out the United States.

China was powered by a number of strong performers, including Yang Liu, who qualified in the top spot on the rings.

Verniaiev and China may very well have established themselves as the new favorites in the premier events of men's gymnastics, but the pressure of medals being on the line could significantly alter the scores and showings with qualifying now officially in the books.

     

Qualifying List

Place	Gymnast	Country
Team
1	China	-
2	United States	-
3	Russia	-
4	Japan	-
5	Great Britain	-
6	Brazil	-
7	Ukraine	-
8	Germany	-
All-Around
1	Oleg Verniaiev	UKR
2	Kohei Uchimura	JPN
3	David Belyavskiy	RUS
4	Sudi Deng	CHN
5	Nile Wilson	GBR
6	Ryohei Kato	JPN
7	Samuel Mikulak	USA
8	Sergio Sasaki	BRA
9	Nikolai Kuksenkov	RUS
10	Chaopan Lin	CHN
11	Arthur Mariano	BRA
12	Max Whitlock	GBR
13	Jossimar Orlando Calvo Moreno	COL
14	Bart Deurloo	NED
15	Manrique Larduet	CUB
16	Andrey Likhovitskiy	BLR
17	Christopher Brooks	USA
18	Oleg Stepko	AZE
19	Pablo Braegger	SUI
20	Marcel Nguyen	GER
21	Axel Augis	FRA
22	Andreas Bretschneider	GER
23	Eddy Yusof	SUI
24	Marios Georgiou	CYP
Floor Exercise
1	Samuel Mikulak	USA
2	Jacob Dalton	USA
3	Kohei Uchimura	JPN
4	Diego Hypolito	BRA
5	Max Whitlock	GBR
6	Kenzo Shirai	JPN
7	Kristian Thomas	GBR
8	Arthur Mariano	BRA
Pommel Horse
1	Max Whitlock	GBR
2	Louis Smith	GBR
3	Cyril Tommasone	FRA
4	Harutyun Merdinyan	ARM
5	Oleg Verniaiev	UKR
6	Nikolai Kuksenkov	RUS
7	Alexander Naddour	USA
8	David Belyavskiy	RUS
Rings
1	Yang Liu	CHN
2	Eleftherios Petrounias	GRE
3	Hao You	CHN
4	Denis Abliazin	RUS
5	Arthur Zanetti	BRA
6	Samir Ait Said	FRA
7	Dennis Goossens	BEL
8	Yuri Van Gelder	NED
Vault
1	Se Gwang Ri	PRK
2	Denis Abliazin	RUS
3	Kenzo Sirai	JPN
4	Igor Radivilov	UKR
5	Marian Dragulescu	ROU
6	Nikita Nagornyy	RUS
7	Oleg Verniaiev	UKR
8	Tomas Gonzalez	CHI
Parallel Bars
1	Oleg Verniaiev	UKR
2	David Belyavskiy	RUS
3	Shudi Deng	CHN
4	Manrique Larduet	CUB
5	Hao You	CHN
6	Danell Leyva	USA
7	Ryohei Kato	JPN
8	Andrei Vasile Muntean	ROU
Horizontal Bars
1	Fabian Hambuechen	GER
2	Nile Wilson	GBR
3	Epke Zonderland	NED
4	Danell Leyva	USA
5	Francisco Barretto Junior	BRA
6	Samuel Mikulak	USA
7	Oleg Verniaiev	UKR
8	Manrique Larduet	CUB