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Gymnastics powerhouse Romania took the women's gymnastics team gold at the Athens Olympics here on Tuesday (August 17) with 114.283 points.

Catalina Ponor, 17, European champion on floor and beam, became the last gymnast to perform on floor at the moment when she must get more than 9.051 points for her routine to overtake the then front-runner United States.

The American gymnasts were also in great form but Courtney Kupets' errors on the floor gifted the team only 9.187 points, which widened the gap with Romania.

The United States won the silver with 113.584 points.

As Svelana Khorkina, the Atlanta and Sydney Olympic champion on uneven bars, could not show her best-ever performance in the final, Russia placed third with 113.235 points.

China, who finished fourth in the qualification, suffered a string of fatal errors to rank only seventh with 110.008 points.

Chinese team coach Lu Shanzhen said, "This result is the worst since I coached the team."

"We expected some difficulties in the final, but did not expect that many," Lu added.

"Our gymnasts are young and inexperienced. They could not adjust themselves in the tough duel," he added.

(Photo source: cs-online/Zhao Danjie)

Editor: Lin Shujun