Alicia Sacramone, Olympic champion

Women's gymnastics has always been the headlining attraction during week one of the Olympics. In recent years the men's competition has gained more exposure, making it just as fascinating. At these games head to head battles with China have made gymnastics one of the most anticipated events of the games.

Monday night the US men won bronze paving the way for the women to defend their World Champion titles. The women were literally doing direct battle with China because they were competing on the same rotation. The US started off strong on vault and uneven bars, but then came the balance beam. At just four inches wide it is considered the make or break apparatus. The Chinese were up first and they were really shaky, leaving the door wide open for the US. Unfortunately, team captain Alicia Sacramone fell off the beam during her opening move. Just like that the US's hopes to strike back against the Chinese were gone. It should be noted here that even with all the mistakes they made the Chinese were still given remarkably high scores. While the host country always receives a bump, these scores were out of control. Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson recovered enough to keep the US in contention, but they would need a huge effort in the floor exercise.

This time the Americans would compete first and once again Alicia Sacramone would lead the way. She appeared ready to redeem herself until a disastrous second tumbling pass where she landed on her back closed the door on the gold. As she left the floor team coach Marta Karoly seemed unable or perhaps unwilling to comfort Sacramone who looked for a private moment that the cameras would not give her.

The US won the silver and the Chinese took gold, leaving Russia with the bronze. Many will call this a failure by the Americans, however I think it is an example in how to lose with class and grace. Sacramone, who at 20 is the oldest member of the team, took all the blame on herself and didn't fail to answer the questions of a rabid press ready to point out her every flaw. To me that is the measure of a true team captain and champion.

So while many will remember how Alicia Sacramone fell, I will remember how she stood up with her teammates as they won the silver medal.