Aliya Mustafina stood atop the podium, proudly cradling her medal and watching the Russian flag rise.
She dared not even imagine such a scene six months ago, her left knee aching and the ruthless brilliance that had made her the world's best gymnast no longer within her command. Yet she refused to give in, to the pain in her body or the doubts in her mind, and the reward now lay heavy upon her chest.
"I am very, very happy I've won gold," Mustafina said after winning the Olympic title on uneven bars Monday. "Every medal represents its own thing."
No one could appreciate that better than Beth Tweddle who finished with bronze behind He Kexin of China who won silver.
Tweddle has been at the forefront of the transformation in British gymnastics, winning every prize there is - except an Olympic medal. She'd come oh, so close four years ago, missing the bronze by a mere 25-hundredths points, and the devastation almost drove her into retirement.
To finally win a bronze Monday in what is surely the 27-year-old's last Olympics, in front of an adoring British crowd, was all that mattered and not the color.
"I tried to say it didn't matter if I didn't medal, but I've got every other title to my name," Tweddle said. "I can now say I would have been devastated walking away with no medal. I am going to sleep easy tonight."
Also Monday, Arthur Zanetti gave Brazil its first medal in gymnastics, upsetting "Lord of the Rings" Chen Yibing for the gold on still rings. South Korea's Yang Hak-seon added Olympic gold to his world title on vault.
Mustafina was so dominant at the 2010 world championships it seemed impossible she wouldn't overwhelm the field again in London. She left those worlds with a medal in all but one event, including the all-around gold, and her haughty attitude was as entertaining as her gymnastics skills.
Six months later, however, she blew out her left ACL at the European championships, putting her chances of simply competing in London in doubt.
"Sometimes I did," Mustafina said when someone asked if she ever considered quitting. "But these urges left me quickly."
On this night, however, she was as brilliant as she's ever been.
When she landed, she threw up her hands in triumph and turned on a megawatt smile. When her score of 16.133 flashed, coach Evgeny Grebenkin picked her up in a bear hug, and chants of "ROSS-EE-YAH!" (Russia) rang out.
She now has a complete set of medals, following her silver from the team competition and bronze from the all-around.
"I was hoping very much I'd done everything I could to win it," Mustafina said. "It's the worth of all the hard work I've put in."
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