Americans Nastia Liukin and Chellsie Memmel continued to dominate the World Gymnastics Championships yesterday, winning gold and silver on the uneven bars.
Liukin -- who was edged by Memmel for the all-around title by just 1-1000th of a point -- showcased her graceful acrobatics in the uneven bars final, scoring 9.662 out of 10.
"I feel great. I'm just so excited," said Liukin. "I knew I'd hit my routine and I knew I had a good chance of getting a medal. When I landed I was just so excited."
Memmel, who won the gold medal on uneven bars at the 2003 world championships, finished in second place with 9.587 out of 10.
"It's great to have the silver medal," she said. "I'm not worried that I didn't defend the world title. My main goal was to win the women's all-around last night and I achieved that."
Fellow American Alicia Sacramone won bronze on the women's vault with an average score of 9.412. Her first vault -- a Yurchenko mount with a double back twist -- earned 9.387 out of 9.8.
"It's awesome," said Sacramone of her result. "This is my first world championships and it's really exciting to place."
China won two gold medals and a bronze yesterday, while Brazil collected its first men's title ever at the world championships as Canada and Hungary got rare medals.
China's Cheng Fei won her country's first world title on vault, with an average score of 9.656.
The only woman in the competition to perform two vaults with a 10-point level of difficulty, Cheng's first vault -- a near flawless back flip mount with a 2 1/2 twist -- scored 9.725.
Cheng also scored 9.587 on her new vault -- a back flip with a half twist followed by a front somersault and a 1 1/2 twist -- which she is seeking to have named after her.
Three-time Olympian Oxana Chusovitina from Uzbekistan, the oldest female competitor at 30, took the silver medal with an average score of 9.418.
It was Chusovitina's seventh medal on vault, breaking Russian Svetlana Khorkina's record for the most medals won by a woman on one apparatus.
Diego Hypolito became the first Brazilian man to win a medal at a world championships, taking the gold for his explosive performance in the floor exercise.
The acrobatic 19-year-old ended his powerful routine with a clean double Arabian and an unbeatable score of 9.675 out of 10.
Brandon O'Neill from Canada was second with 9.537 out of 10 -- his country's first silver medal in the event in a world championship. Canadian men have won just three silver medals in the world championships, but never gold.
China's Liang Fuliang, whose routine attracted raucous applause from supporters in the local Chinese-Australian community, tied with Hungarian Robert Gal for the bronze medal with 9.587 out of 10. It also was Hungary's first-ever medal in the event.
China's Xiao Qin, who won silver medals on the pommel horse at the 2001 and 2002 world championships, drew shouts of admiration from the crowd as he spun around the horse with ease and grace. His score of 9.85 stole the lead from Romania's Ioan Silviu Suciu, who finished second with 9.70 out of 10.
On rings, the Netherlands' Yuri van Gelder took the gold medal with 9.725 out of 10, followed by Russia's Alexander Safoshkin with 9.712 and Italy's Matteo Morandi with 9.662.
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