Gymnastics: Romania takes team gold as Russia’s ‘queen of the bars’ falters

Russia had to settle for silver behind Romania in the women's team event on Tuesday night, as the 'queen of the bars' Svetlana Khorkina crashed to the mat doing a move she invented on the uneven bars.

The Russians had been favourites to take the event after winning the preliminary competition, but falls from Khorkina and team-mate Ekaterina Lobazniouk, who fell from the beam, allowed Romania to regain the title after 16 years

China took the bronze.

It was a case of deja-vu for Khorkina, who was blamed for Russia's failure to win gold at last year's world championships when she tumbled off the balance beam.

Despite her best efforts, she later scored the evening's highest mark on the floor exercise, the reigning Olympic, world and European champion on the asymmetric bars could not overcome the costly fall.

Romania, led by world all-around champion Maria Olaru, put on a solid display with no major mistakes.

The Chinese team, led by Yang Yun and Ling Jie, shone on bars, but mistakes on the other apparatus also cost them any chance of a higher placing.

The defending gold medallists, the Americans, finished fourth.

- REUTERS and HERALD ONLINE STAFF