China wins Gold!

China has the Olympic title it has long craved and everyone else expected. The Americans, meanwhile, won the bronze with a roster patched together at the last minute. Japan, the defending Olympic champion, won the silver.

China finished with 286.125 points, more than seven points ahead of Japan. That’s such a blowout the Chinese could have brought three fans in for the last event and still won. The Americans had 275.850.

China’s triumph was as much a vindication as a coronation. It ended a four-year journey built on the failures of Athens, and carried through a crucible of unfathomable expectations. The Chinese arrived at the Beijing Games as such overwhelming favorites that anything less than a spectacular gold-medal performance would not have been enough.

Mission accomplished—magnificently.

The failure 4 years ago fueled China, as did all those chants of “加油” that rang out throughout the arena yesterday night. And it sure was China's moment last night. Be proud.