American Wieber wins all-around gold, still hoping to meet Bieber
Jordyn Wieber burst into tears. She couldn't help it after being so surprised to win the world all-around championship in Tokyo on Thursday. Though she had strong performances, she assumed that Russian gymnast Victoria Komova had edged her out.
She was wrong. Komova's score on the floor exercise was not enough to beat Wieber, and she found herself crying, hugging her coaches and smiling for the camera. With 59.382 points, Wieber had won by a mere .03 points. The 16-year-old's next goal? Meet teen heartthrob Justin Bieber.
AP reporter Nancy Armour tweeted from Tokyo:
And yes, @jordynmarie2013 still really, really, really wants to meet @justinbieber. "I hope so. That would be sooo exciting."
In a day of errors, Komova and Wieber were the most solid throughout. Wieber's big vault and difficult bar routine both earned her big scores. She lost a handstand on the beam and stepped out of bounds during the floor exercise, but the difficulty of her routines helped boost her scores.
It was that difficulty that put Wieber ahead of Komova, who had the last routine of the event. She needed a 14.365 to secure the win, but only pulled a 14.333. Wieber, who was competing in her first world championship event, beat Komova on every apparatus except the uneven bars.
China's Jinnan Yao took the bronze, and American Aly Raisman took fourth. Raisman fought back from eight place after a disastrous bars routine.
Five American women have previously won the world all-around, but none of them went on to win Olympic gold. With a burgeoning rivalry with Komova, Wieber will try to end that trend in London in 2012.
Hopefully, with Justin Bieber watching.
