UCHIMURA LEADS JAPAN ON ITS DAY OF GLORY

With two World golds already in her pocket by the time the Clubs final got underway, Kudryavtseva appeared just to have reached cruising altitude. She flew through her Clubs routine to secure a third gold, with Mamun as usual just behind.

In the hunt for gold from the second rotation forward, the Japanese team seemed in their own universe for a large part of the competition. But their grand finale on Horizontal Bar brought them brutally back down to earth, where falls allowed Great Britain to soar into contention. Phenomenal on Floor, Max Whitlock earned a mark that temporarily put Great Britain atop of the scoreboard. The crowd exploded with joy at seeing Britain in front, just as Uchimura let go of the bar for his first release. But when Uchimura failed to recatch the bar and fell onto his back, so great was the surprise that silence was quickly reimposed.

The fall was without consequence, as Japan, with Kohei Uchimura, Ryohei Kato, Kazuma Kaya, Kenzo Shirai, Yusuke Tanaka and Naoto Hayasaka, got their day of glory after nearly four decades of waiting. The British finished on the podium for the first time at a World Championships, passing China, who were unbolted from their pedestal after 12 years of World domination.

THE AMERICAN DREAM

Led by World champion Simone Biles and 2012 Olympic All-around champion Gabrielle Douglas, the American women reigned over the Glasgow Worlds, underscoring the strength of the training system set in place by Martha and Bela Karolyi at the turn of the century.

For the U.S. (Biles, Douglas, Aly Raisman, Brenna Dowell, Madison Kocian and Maggie Nichols), Glasgow was a dress rehearsal for next summer’s Olympics, the culmination of what has been the American quadrennium in women’s gymnastics.

With the Americans so largely in charge, it was up to the rest of the world to provide the suspense in the battle for silver and bronze. China, the world’s top team on Uneven Bars, survived Balance Beam and improved on Vault to take silver for the second straight year. Great Britain, meanwhile, overcame a rough start on Uneven Bars, with Worlds debutant Ellie Downie nailing her Vault in the final minutes to secure bronze, the country’s first-ever World team medal.

Perennial medal contender Russia came apart on Balance Beam and dropped to fourth, finishing out of the medals for the first time since 2007.