Women's Gymnastics: Liukin and Johnson, Gold and Silver

It was a heart-stopping competition to determine the winner of the women's gymnastics all-around champion.

The American women were victorious, taking the gold and the silver.

BEIJING -- Nastia Liukin edged teammate Shawn Johnson for the all-around gold in women's gymnastics at the Beijing Olympics Friday in an intense matchup that lived up to its billing.

Liukin finished with 63.325 points, a mere six-tenths ahead of Johnson, the reigning world champion who beat Liukin at the U.S. championships and Olympic trials only a few weeks ago.

Yang Yilin of China won the bronze.

"It's amazing, I am kind of speechless right now," Liukin said. "I don't think it's really set in, but I feel like this journey has been so long."

...For China, it was the first disappointment on the gymnastics floor. The Chinese won both the men's and women's team titles, and Yang Wei ran away with the men's all-around gold on Thursday.

But this was no surprise.

Johnson and Liukin have been the world's two best gymnasts for two years now, and most expected the teammates would be each other's biggest competition. Johnson came in with all the momentum, winning every matchup with Liukin but one in the last few years.

It was Liukin's grace under pressure, though, that made the difference. And it had to, with everything coming down to the very last event, and the last two performers.

"I gave my heart and soul out there today," Johnson said. "Nastia deserved the gold."

Both Liukin and Johnson are incredible athletes.

Though they were competing against each other, they cheered each other on, competitors and teammates at the same time.

Although the Americans were the favorites to take the all-around, anything can happen. There are no guarantees going into the competition.

But finally, an American gymnast prevailed and stood atop the medal stand as the National Anthem played.

Some inexplicably low scores for Nastia Liukin, 18, and Shawn Johnson, 16, made me nervous about the outcome of the event, but in the end all was as it should have been.

The Americans were simply spectacular.