Stumbles cost U.S.

ATHENS, Greece — The mistakes were so minor. Carly Patterson's foot scraping the lower of the uneven bars. Courtney Kupets' tumbling pass that ended here instead of there. Mohini Bhardwaj's slight stumble on the beam.

They're the kind of errors only judges see, little things that seem so inconsequential. But those mistakes add up, and they cost the U.S. gymnastics team a gold medal.

The Americans settled for silver Tuesday night, done in as much by their own sloppiness as Romania's sheer superiority. Their errors in every event cost them valuable fractions of points. They finished with 113.584, just behind the Romanians, who won their second straight gold medal. Russia won the bronze.

Silver is nothing to be ashamed of, of course. The U.S. men won one Monday night and were positively giddy. And it's far better than leaving empty-handed, which the U.S. women did in Sydney for the first time since 1976.

But these women are world champions, winners of every international meet they've entered since 2002 and perhaps the best team the United States has ever put on the floor. This was supposed to be their coronation.

"We made small mistakes," said renowned coach Bela Karolyi, a native Romanian whose wife Martha is the U.S. team coordinator. "Small mistakes are to be paid for. And we paid."

The Americans knew it. After Patterson closed out the team's night with a saucy, sassy floor routine that had the Olympic Indoor Hall rocking, she and her teammates sat somberly on the sideline as the Romanians took the floor.

The team, which finished second to the United States at last summer's world championships, needed to average only 9.35 points per routine to catch the Americans. Easily done.

Daniela Sofronie soared above the floor on her tumbling passes, flying so high fans sitting in the first few rows had to look up to see her.

Catalina Ponor, the final Romanian, brought the crowd to its feet with one of the finest routines of the night. Technically perfect, she stuck her landings with sureness and confidence. Her teammates were already hugging each other and crying when her music stopped, and Ponor sprinted off the mat with a grin on her face. Even Karolyi had to applaud.

The Americans, meanwhile, sat glumly in their seats. A few clapped. Most simply stared ahead, perhaps thinking about all the wasted opportunities.