It wasn't even close.
The Americans opened with a jaw-dropping performance on the vault and never trailed, finishing with 183.596 points to relegate the imploding Russians to silver (178.530) and Romania (176.414) to bronze.
"It's the best team of all time," U.S. gymnastics coach John Geddert said without apology.
It was difficult to take issue. As world champion gymnasts from Russia and China crumpled under the pressure, teetering wildly on the balance beam and falling face-first on the floor, the Americans were solid as granite, delivering their 12 mandatory routines without a single glaring gaffe.
Their margin of victory, 5.066 points, is unheard of in international competition. But even that didn't come close to quantifying the vast gulf between the Americans' mental toughness and that of their chief rivals, 2008 Olympic champion China, which finished a tearful fourth, and perennial powers Russia and Romania.
"There was no comparison with any other team in sturdiness and the decisive, aggressive and strong approach," brayed Bela Karolyi, the Romanian native who coached Nadia Comaneci to Olympic perfection in 1976 and masterminded the historic 1996 U.S. gold. "That was absolutely a huge difference between them and particularly the Russian team."
Throughout the competition, the U.S. gymnasts were so focused on their own routines and those of their teammates, they didn't notice the Russians and Chinese were short-circuiting around them.
The Russians' floor routines, once the gymnastic power's strength, were disastrous. Two of their gymnasts fell during tumbling sequences and broke down in tears. Russia's gaffes took tremendous pressure off the Americans entering their final rotation, needing only 40.300 points - scores of 13.500 apiece - to clinch gold.
"We just decided to go out there and be aggressive and be strong and courageous and not be afraid," Gabrielle Douglas said later, a gold medal around her neck.
Gymnasts in Philly
The 2012 men's and Women's Olympic teams will be performing at the Wells Fargo Center for the Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions on Nov. 9. Tickets are available at www.comcasttix.com
