Teen queen Cheng leads vault assault

The retirement of Russia's Svetlana Khorkina and Romanian star Catalina Ponor has given China and the United States a firmer stranglehold on women's gymnastics that is likely to ossify as their talented young athletes mature.

China's Cheng Fei, a triple gold medalist in vault, competes to win the Artistic Gymnastics women's balanced beam final at the International Invitational tournament held at the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing December 3, 2007. [Xinhua]

Led by world champions Cheng Fei and Shawn Johnson, respectively, China and the United States will continue their rivalry into the 2008 Beijing Games, with China hoping to turn the tide on its chief rivals after playing second fiddle in Athens three years ago.

At the Athens Games, US gymnasts grabbed two gold medals, six silvers and one bronze, ranking second in the gymnastics medal tally following Romania, which grabbed four gold, three silvers and three bronzes.

Their Chinese counterparts mustered only one gold and three bronze medals.

The US team continued its mastery the following year, going 4-4-1 in terms of podium finishes at the 2005 World Championships.

But China's young gymnasts fought back as Cheng began her dominance on the women's vault, while the "king of the pommel horse," Xiao Qin, won his signature event.

China then stamped its presence at the 2006 worlds with a dominant eight gold medals. The United States had to settle for no gold, five silvers and a bronze.

The competition between the two sides was equally close at this year's worlds, with China (5) edging the US (4) by a single gold medal. China's women's sole gold effort came from Cheng on the vault, in a competition where rising American star Johnson stole the show by taking the gold in the all-around, floor exercises and team events.

Nastia Liukin, the 2005 world champion on the beam and uneven bars, won another gold medal for the Americans with her victory on the balance beam.

The rivalry between the two countries seems to spur them on to greater heights.

Shawn Johnson of the US performs on the floor to win the gold medal during the women's final at the 40th World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Stuttgart September 9, 2007. [Agencies]

"Right now, the rivalry between the US and China is at its strongest, as some of the other countries are not quite up there where they used to be," Marvin Sharp, coach of the US women's team, said during the Good Luck Beijing Gymnastics International Invitational Tournament, which concluded on Monday.

"I think it makes it more enjoyable."

The coach's sentiments were echoed by 2005 all-around world champion Chellsie Memmel.