"Scoring is scoring, that's our sport," she said. "In other sports, like track and field, it's all timed and it doesn't have anything to do with judging. You do your routine and you turn it over to the judges. That's what we've been going through our entire lives and we've come to accept it."

Then there's the age thing. He, Yang and China's Jiang Yuyuan have all been dogged by questions about their ages, with several online documents and reports suggesting they could be as young as 14. A gymnast has to be 16 in an Olympic year to be eligible. He was asked about it again Monday night, and again said she was 16. Younger gymnasts have more flexibility and less fear — that's what would give them an advantage.

But Liukin wasn't about to be drawn into that controversy.

"She's an excellent athlete, no matter how old she is," Liukin said. "She's done her hard work and her preparation. She definitely deserved her gold medal."

He's routine certainly was spectacular.

She's so tiny that she flits and floats between the bars with the quickness and ease of a hummingbird. In one move, she flips herself above the top bar and catches it again with her hands crossed, twisting her body like a contortionist.

She had a slight hop on her landing, but it was a minor flaw.

Liukin's routine was equally impressive. She, too, appears to float between the bars, and her pirouettes on the high bar are so gorgeous dancers should take note. She also did her dismount perfectly — quite an accomplishment considering it's been a problem all year. But like He, she also had a small error, on one of her flips.

"I play by the rules. So in my opinion, I have to say yes," Liukin said when someone asked if the result was fair. "Judges have their own opinion and once you land your dismount, there's nothing else you can do."

Besides, Liukin has the medal that REALLY matters.

And with four medals, she's pulled even with her father in the race for family bragging rights. Valeri Liukin won four medals in 1988, two gold and two silver.

"I have the most important medal and it's the all-around gold," she said. "I have four medals now and I'm tied with my dad. One gold, two silvers and a bronze, and I have one more chance to get one gold that I feel like I missed out on today."

The Chinese men aren't missing out on any golds, with Chen Yibing making them 5-for-5 with a win on still rings. They were generous enough to allow someone from another country to get the vault gold, Poland's Leszek Blanik. Of course, they didn't have anyone in the competition, either.

Chen's victory was hardly a surprise. He's a two-time world champion on rings, and his routines are masterful. When his feet slammed into the mat with a thud heard 'round the arena, he closed his eyes and pumped his fist. He didn't have gold quite yet — there was one other gymnast left to compete, and Chen held up a finger to the crowd to shush them — but there was no question he was the winner.

When he was introduced as the gold medalist, he threw his head back and tears filled his eyes. He and teammate Yang Wei, the silver medalist, bumped fists on the podium, and Chen sang every word of China's anthem.

"This is the highest individual honor for me," he said, "and I waited a long time."

So did Blanik, the bronze medalist on vault in Sydney. It took a tie-break to decide his medal, too, with Blanik getting the edge over France's Thomas Bouhail because he had the highest score of the gymnasts' four attempts.

If only it was that simple for Liukin and He.