LONDRES (AP) — El equipo chino de gimnasia se embolsó el lunes la medalla de oro en Londres 2012, por segunda Olimpíada consecutiva, para silenciar a los críticos que habían cuestionado la calidad de sus integrantes tras un desempeño gris en la ronda clasificatoria.

China ha ganado el oro en tres de los últimos cuatro Juegos Olímpicos,

El total de los chinos, de 275,997 puntos, se quedó cuatro unidades arriba del obtenido por Japón, que necesitó la ayuda de una videograbadora digital para obtener la plata.

Originalmente, se anunció que Gran Bretaña había obtenido la plata, lo que desató una ruidosa celebración en el O2 Arena.

Pero Japón protestó el puntaje del tricampeón mundial Kobei Uchimura en el caballo con arzones, la última rutina del equipo.

Mientras los jueces se reunían en torno de una pantalla de video, Uchimura y sus compañeros permanecieron de pie e impávidos, mientras los británicos seguían celebrando. Unos cinco minutos después, se modificó la puntuación, y los japoneses alcanzaron la plata, mientras que Gran Bretaña descendió al tercer puesto.

Aun así, los británicos consiguieron su primera medalla por equipos de gimnasia en un siglo.

A juzgar por la celebración, pareció que los británicos habían conseguido el oro, luego se les escapó la plata pero tampoco quedaron decepcionados con el bronce.

Ucrania, que originalmente había quedado tercera, cayó fuera de las medallas.

Los estadounidenses tenían grandes esperanzas de conquistar su primer título olímpico desde Los Angeles 1984, después de terminar primeros en la clasificación. Se quedaron también sin preseas, al sufrir dos caídas en la sesión vespertina, y quedaron quintos.

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