US' Liukin ends China's golden run in gymnastics

Beijing: Nastia Liukin of the United States won the women's gymnastics individual all-around event here on Friday to break China's stranglehold on gymnastics at the Beijing Olympics.

Liukin's compatriot Shawn Johnson took silver to make it a one-two finish for the United States, while the best the host nation could do was bronze from Yang Yilan.

Liukin finished on 63.325, with Johnson on 62.725 and Yang scoring 62.65.

The victory helps make amends for the US women's loss to China in the team event, where mistakes proved costly and the home nation beat them to gold.

Until Liukin's win, China had won all three of the gymnastics gold medals contested at these Games.

Johnson, the reigning individual world champion, had been favourite for the Olympic title but teammate Liukin proved too strong after coming back from a series of injuries in recent years.

Moscow-born Liukin moved to the US as a toddler and is the daughter of Valerie Liukin, who won two golds in gymnastics for the USSR at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Romanian Steliana Nistor led after the first of four rounds thanks to a strong performance on the uneven bars, but Johnson's explosive routine had her breathing down her rival's neck just 0.1 points behind.

Yang overtook them both, scoring a stellar 16.725 on the uneven bars to leap from fifth place to first with a wafer-thin 0.15 point lead at the half-way point ahead of Luikin.

Liukin had the opportunity to snatch the lead on the balance beam, an apparatus on which she is world champion, and she did not disappoint scoring 16.125 to go ahead 0.15 points.

Yang was then in second place after scoring 15.75 on the beam, the crowd oohing and aahing her every wobble.

The fervent support that has cheered China to three gymnastics gold medal during these Games stepped up a notch going into the final floor exercise.

But there were boos when Yang scored 15.0 after a stumble during her routine though the spectators remained fair and cheered Liukin's routine, which earned 15.525 from the judges.

That left Johnson, the floor world champion, needing 16.125 for gold, but she fell short on 15.525.

Chinese gymnast Jiang Yuyuan's hopes faded when her feet skidded out from beneath her and she fell on her back dismounting from the vault, drawing groans from the 18,000 capacity crowd as Beijing's National Indoor Stadium.

Italy's Vanessa Ferrari, the 2006 individual world champion, also fell twice during her floor exercise routine.