Final ups and downs

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Samantha Peszek finished strongly, knocking out an uneven bars routine that wasn’t filled with the most difficulty but was done with solid execution with a stuck landing and a score of 15.550 .... Chellsie Memmel finished her two-day performance with a stuck landing on her vault and with an eight-for-eight, no big-miss performance, announcing herself as a contender for the Olympic team and some individual medals. And Shawn Johnson sparkled again on her floor exercise routine. She performed all four tumbling passes with a big smile, scored 16.200 and pretty much guaranteed herself a second consecutive national all-around title.

And Liukin came next. She avoided the step out of bounds she had on Thursday but didn’t have the oomph to pull ahead of Johnson.

No downers in this final round either. Most girls put aside fatigue and nerves and avoided leaving U.S. evaluators with any negative impressions.

-- Diane Pucin

Photo: Michael Dwyre/Associated Press