Please don't listen to NBC. Yes, in 1992 when 0.1 was the difference between 1st and 10th a OOB deduction was a disaster. In this code, where the focus is on racking up as much ridiculous difficulty as possible, 0.1 is a minor drop in the bucket, the equivalent of a tiny wobble on beam or a few degrees short of handstand on bars. I am tired of hearing the entire team criticized for a so-called disastrous floor rotation, when Shawn and Nastia put up virtually identical scores to the first two Chinese gymnasts (15.1 and 15.2 vs. 15.150 and 15.2).

Alicia's falls didn't help, but put the blame where it belongs - on an outdated and ignorant Karolyi system that overtrains the girls to the point of injury and psychological exhaustion, a process of attrition that resulted in a third of the selected team being unable to compete by prelims, 4 gymnasts with broken bones between trials and prelim competition at the Olympics, the loss of many gymnast before the year even began who could have put up bars scores closer to the Chinese due to burnout, etc. etc. Add to this the refusal of those in charge to accept that the new format rewards event specialists rather than all-arounders, and their ignorance of how to prepare for a team final - while China focussed on perfecting high difficulty routines giving them a two point advantage before the competition began, Marta was busy removing difficulty from the USA routines, and was reportedly ignorant of the routines her competitors were performing, information every fan had months ago from watching youtube. Until USA gymnastics updates their training methods, sports science, knowledge and approach to the sport, they will continue to disappoint at the Olympics. The fault is not with the gymnasts, it is with an outdated, dangerous and unproductive training system that ruins the athletes before they even make it to the Olympic stage.