U.S Women's Gymnastics Review: Bridget Sloan, Shawn Johnson and Alicia Sacramone

Gymnastics has always been my favorite event to follow during the Olympics. Although I have no expertise in evaluating or scoring gymnastics, I do try to follow these events closely. The women's vault finals provided an intense competition between the American and Chinese teams. China set the pace with a 15.450 average, which didn't give the U.S. team a lot of leeway. However, the three U.S. competitors did a fantastic job in the event.

Here are my personal evaluations of the girls:

Bridget Sloan: She begins with an intense look of concentration on her face, while takes away from her girl-next-door looks. Sloan had issues with a knee injury, which could prove difficult in vaulting. Her form looks a bit crooked and she lands with a slight step during her landing. Her overall score was a 15.200, which was the lowest of the Americans on the team. She's not as powerful as her teammates, but she stuck a solid vault that helped to add points for her team.

Shawn Johnson: It's incredible to see how powerful such a small girl can be. Her routine was much more difficult than Sloan's and included 2.5 twists with a blind ending. Johnson landed with a slight leg cross, though she still ended up with a 16.000. To me, she is the most powerful contender all-around on the U.S. team.

Alicia Sacramone: Sacramone went into the vault with the most force, propelling her body forward. Her ending did have a slight hop, which affected her score slightly. It seemed as though the sheer force of her vault affected her landing more than anything else. She ended with a solid 15.675.

Overall, Johnson led the American team on the vault, though Sacramone and Sloan delivered noteworthy performances as well. Johnson is a crowd favorite, and fans from around the world have been rooting for her. Still, Sloan and Sacramone should be praised for their talented work on the vault. All girls brought great power, style, and form to the vault.