Johnson, Liukin add to medals

BEIJING (AP) — The American women are stockpiling more precious metal than a jeweler. The Chinese men have quite the stash, too, though they’re only interested in gold.

Two days after going 1-2 in the all-around, Olympic champion Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson added to their collection Sunday. Johnson won the silver on floor exercise, while Liukin took the bronze. Throw in the silvers they won in the team competition, and the Americans have three gymnastics medals each.

“Of course when you’re training your whole life to get to the Olympics, you train for gold,” Johnson said. “But honestly, a silver around my neck three times at the Olympics means more to me than anything.”

The Chinese men, meanwhile, don’t leave the warm-up gym unless there’s some gold to be gotten.

Xiao Qin took the gold on pommel horse, hardly a surprise considering he’s won the last three world titles in the event, while little Zou Kai took advantage of errors by favorites Diego Hypolito and Marian Dragulescu to win the floor exercise. China has won all four men’s gold medals up for grabs so far.

“I am not as excited as I was when I won the men’s team gold medal,” who Xiao, who saluted and sang along when the Chinese anthem played, “because we finally released the pressure that had built up for so many years.”

Romania’s Sandra Izbasa won the women’s floor title while Hong Un Jong took gold on vault.

The U.S. women didn’t come to the Beijing Games with quite the same pressure as the Chinese men, who have won seven of the last eight world titles, but had only one Olympic gold to go with it. Still, when you strut in as world champs and have the two best gymnasts, people expect you to bring home some jewelry.

“An Olympic medal is an Olympic medal,” Liukin said. “Now I have the full collection.”