They were better than they were in qualification, and no one could come close.
Team USA won their third straight World Championship in Glasgow today. They ended the day with a total of 181.338 points, a 5.1 point victory over their nearest competitor. After having a few struggles in qualification, Team USA came with their absolute best, and lead after every event.
Aly Raisman, who was so disappointed in her performance in qualification that she publically questioned whether or not she would be selected for the team next year, more than made up for her struggles. She had a strong balance beam routine with only a slight hop on her dismount, and she continued to look like one of the best on the floor, finishing with a 15.08. Maggie Nichols performed in every rotation, and gave Team USA some big scores.
Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas kicked off the event on the vault, and had one of the best vaults of the day with a 15.233. Douglas was also one of the best on the uneven bars with a 15.333, which was just better than Madison Kocain, an uneven bars specialist, who scored a 15.300 for Team USA.
The story of the day, as it is every day when Team USA competes, was Simone Biles. The two time all around World Champion began her day on the vault, where she scored a 15.96, the best of the day. She was flawless on the balance beam, but she once again wow'd the crowd with her floor routine, which is the best in the world, and scored a 15.7, which was by far the best of the day.
China walked away with the silver medal. After a rough day in qualification, China was hitting on every apparatus, especially the uneven bars, where the Chinese ladies were flawless. Shang Chunsong, who has had several surgeries on her legs and ankles, performed several routines that were designed to take the pressure off her injuries. It worked, as Chunsong was flawless.
Russia was in second place after one rotation, and hoped to pass Team USA on the uneven bars, where they were considered the superior team. A few mistakes, however, pushed Russia further behind the Americans.
Russia completely fell apart from there. All three Russian women fell from the balance beam, and none of their gymnasts performed a clean floor routine. Russia watched as they didn't just fall from the silver medal position, but from the podium completely.
Great Britain, lead by Amy Tinkler and Ellie and Rebecca Downie, performed three solid rotations leading up to the vault, where Tinkler, Rebecca Downie, and Claudia Fragapane hit three massive vaults to surge past the Russians on home soil. It is the first ever medal in the women's team event for Team Great Britain.