The U.S. men's gymnastics team failed to make the podium in a team event for a third straight Olympics after finishing in 5th place at Monday's final.
The team representing the Russian Olympic Committee rode remarkable performances by Artur Dalaloyan and Nikita Nagornyy to edge Japan and China in a taut men’s team final.
The victory marked the first Olympic title for the Russians since the 1996 Atlanta Games.
Russia’s total of 262.500 points was just good enough to hold off the sport’s other two superpowers. Japan used a brilliant high bar routine by Daiki Hashimoto in the final rotation to surge past China for second with a score of 262.397.
The Chinese were undone by a fall from Lin Chaopan on floor exercise during the first rotation.
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Team USA had the fourth-best score in team qualifying but finished just behind fourth-place finishers Great Britain by just over a point.
Brody Malone, Sam Mikulak, Yul Moldauer and Shane Wiskus competed for Team USA. Moldauer delivered a strong performance on the pommel horse early in the competition. Mikulak stuck his landing in the vault and celebrated with the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) on his way back to his teammates. The team's best performance came in the parallel bars, where they all they all scored their highest points in the competition.
Dalaloyan led the way for the ROC despite competing on a surgically repaired Achilles tendon in his left leg.
Russia, China and Japan have spent the last five years battling for supremacy.
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