BEIJING // China has won the gold medal in men's gymnastics that it has long craved. China's score of 286.125 was more than seven points ahead of the defending Olympic champions Japan. The Americans, with a roster that had to be patched together at the last minute when both Hamm brothers were sidelined with injuries, were in the running for the silver medals until their last two events and ended up with the bronze.
The Chinese were already parading for the cameras with one of their gymnasts still to go on the last event. When little Zou Kai's feet hit the mat with a thud, his teammates jumped up and down. They stood behind a large Chinese flag, tears flowing down several of their faces. The Chinese have won seven of the last eight world titles, including the last three. For all that, though, they were still considered underachievers. There was just one Olympic title during this reign, and their collapse four years ago was one of epic proportions. Not only did they not win the gold they were supposed to, they didn't get close to the podium, and crawled home with a measly two medals, only one of them gold. But instead of imploding, the failure fuelled China. They strutted onto the floor, waving at their cheering fans and pumping their fists as if to remind everyone that this was their party.
* AP
