Instead, the new format enabled them to soar off the uneven bars on their dismounts and post high scores that clinched the women's team gold medal after the second of four rotations Wednesday.
The ages of some Chinese gymnasts have been questioned, amid suggestions they were too young for Olympic eligibility this year (16). But they left they no doubts about their ability to perform under pressure in front of loud, chanting fans at National Indoor Stadium and a country full of big expectations for them.
Thanks mostly to dominating the bars, the Chinese posted 188.90 points to the Americans' 186.525, with Romania (181.525) a distant third.
This figured to be among the best duels staged in any sport in these Games, and the Chinese were solid throughout. The final was made more tense and intriguing when the two favorites competed together in each event, while every score counted among each country's three performers.
That's why Alicia Sacramone shook her head in disbelief after falling during her floor exercise routine on the final rotation. But the Americans' chances of winning their first team gold medal since 1996 were long gone by then.
The US Gymnasts did pretty much everything they could, but their opponents were simply that much better. Standing several inches less than 5 feet and weighing maybe 75 pounds, China's gymnastics stars played bigger than Yao Ming in the final. The Americans needed to win the vault to open the meet, which they did, and they needed to win the balance beam, which they did. The part they could not control was China's stunning performance on the bars.
America's Nastia Liukin actually posted the best score (16.90) on bars, but China's duo of He Kexin (16.85) and Yang Yilin (16.80) were too much to overcome as the host country won the event by nearly two points.
The ultimate margin of victory was striking, because while China had won the preliminary competition by 1.475 points, the Americans were dealing with some injuries and had made five major mistakes. In its own way, that performance gave them confidence about their chances of making the final interesting.
"We're going to come back even stronger in the team finals," Shawn Johnson had said. "We're ready to fight for it."
As it turned out, this bout was over by the halfway point.
Unlike most gymnastics meets, where the top teams are competing in different events throughout, the Olympic final made the comparisons easy.
The Americans started with nice vaults by Bridget Sloan, Johnson and Sacramone, taking a solid lead. Chellsie Memmel, Johnson and, especially, Luikin followed with a decent bars performance, but the Chinese topped them resoundingly.
After a good beam performance brought them within a point after three rotations, the Americans faded on the floor and China finished off the rout.
