Raisman floors rivals to win gold

London: American Alexandra Raisman has won gold in the women`s floor final at the North Greenwich Arena.

Raisman followed up on her bronze on the beam with an impressive performance to score 15.600 and claim the title ahead of Romania`s Catalina Ponor in silver (15.200) with Russian Aliya Mustafina taking bronze (14.900).

Defending Olympic champion Sandra Raluca Izbasa of Romania, the last gymnast to compete, missed out after a fall on her last tumbling combination to finish in last place.

World champion Kseniia Afanaseva of Russia got things under way with a dramatic routine but stepped out of bounds twice as she tumbled towards a score of 14.566.

American Jordyn Wieber, who won team gold but missed out on the individual all-around final due to the two-per-country rule, was next, but struggled to harness her power on her way to 14.500.

Raisman, who won bronze on the beam final earlier in the day on an appeal, got the support of the crowd with some high-scoring tumbling to take the lead.

It was then the turn of former Olympic champion Ponor, who claimed the title in 2004 before briefly retiring from the sport and was looking to get revenge on Raisman after she snatched bronze from her on the beam after an inquiry.

The 24-year-old produced an elegant performance but only scored 15.200 to move into silver medal position.

Australia`s Lauren Mitchell was next and she moved into third with 14.833 before Italy`s Vanessa Ferrari edged past her by 0.077 of a mark.

Russian Aliya Mustafina, who won gold in yesterday`s uneven bars final, then slipped into bronze medal position with one gymnast remaining.

That was Izbasa, the defending champion, who was going well until a fall on her last tumble cost her a place on the podium, leaving Raisman to be crowned new Olympic champion.

BDST: 1947 HRS, August 8, 2012
Edited by
Chanchal Ghosh, Newsroom Editor