Aliya Mustafina Wins GOLD- Uneven Bars

Aliya Mustafina Wins GOLD- Uneven Bars

PHOTO:AP
By NANCY ARMOUR (AP National Writer)
Aliya Mustafina stood atop the podium, proudly cradling her medal and watching the Russian flag rise.
She dared not even imagine such a scene six months ago, her left knee aching and the ruthless brilliance that had made her the world’s best gymnast no longer within her command. Yet she refused to give in, to the pain in her body or the doubts in her mind, and the reward now lay heavy upon her chest.
“I am very, very happy I’ve won gold,” Mustafina said after winning the Olympic title on uneven bars Monday. “Every medal represents its own thing.”
No one could appreciate that better than Beth Tweddle.
Tweddle has been at the forefront of the transformation in British gymnastics, winning every prize there is – except an Olympic medal. She’d come oh, so close four years ago, missing the bronze by a mere 25-hundredths points, and the devastation almost drove her into retirement.
To finally win a bronze Monday in what is surely the 27-year-old’s last Olympics, in front of an adoring British crowd, was all that mattered and not the color.