Women Olympics gymnastics schedule confirmed

(TIANJIN, China, May 15) -- The drawing for gymnastics competitions during the Olympics took place on Thursday in Tianjin, while competitions of the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) World Cup were coming to a close.

According to sports.cn, at about 6:30 in the evening, the sequence of the women's gymnastics competitions was decided.

China will face Romania, mixed group 4, and mixed group 3 first in the balance beam event, which is to take place, according to BOCOG's pre-arranged schedule, on August 10 at 10 a.m. The second, third, and fourth competitions will begin at 1:30 p.m., 5:00 p.m., and 8:00 p.m. on the same day.

After the balance beam, the women will compete in the floor exercise, vault, and uneven bars, in that order. Lu Shanzhen, coach of the Chinese women gymnasts, was seen shaking her head after hearing the results of the draw. "A morning competition, and having the first event be the balance beam ..." But, now that this has been confirmed, Lu says that each member of the team will try her best to excel under the schedule.

The Chinese women's main rival is team USA, who will compete in the second group with the UK, Japan, and Italy. The third group consists of Russia, Germany, Ukraine, and Australia, while the fourth group will be made up of mixed group 1, mixed group 2, France, and Brazil.