China's surprising prowess in the pool has been one of the storylines of the Olympics. But it's the traditional Chinese dominance in diving that has been their bread and butter in London, and another gold medal on Tuesday morning propelled the Chinese to the top of the medal count. Then the U.S. tied them up with a big win in women's team gymnastics.
China's team of Chen Ruolin and Wang Hao blew away the field in women's synchronized 10m platform diving, scoring the third Chinese goal of the London Games. It also makes a clean sweep for China in diving: three finals have been held, and China has taken three gold medals from them.
A brilliant performance from the U.S. women's gymnastics team, however, gave Team USA its first gold medal in the team competition since 1996, when Kerri Strug's sensational vault on an injured ankle gave America its signature moment of its home nation Games.
The U.S. got another gold medal on the day, from U.S. Army sergeant Vincent Hancock in skeet shooting, but wasn't able to score its third medal in as many diving events. So Team USA remains tied with China, which got a silver medal from women's 63kg judo and failed to reach the medal podium in women's team gymnastics, through midday on Day 4. Both nations have 19 medals for the Olympics.
Here's a more complete look at the medal count:
- China, 19 (10 gold, 6 silver, 3 bronze)
- United States, 19 (7, 7, 5)
- Japan, 12 (1, 4, 7)
- France, 9 (4, 1, 4)
- Italy, 8 (2, 4, 2)
For complete coverage of the 2012 London Olympics, visit SB Nation's Summer Olympics hub.
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