Impressions: Flight four at the London Test Event (women's)

Brazil took almost full advantage of its chance. It's only blown routine of the night -- Jade Barbosa's two falls on balance beam in the last rotation -- set up one of those moments gymnastics fans live for. Barbosa was the penultimate gymnast on beam, so it was up to Daniele Hypolito -- already a veteran of three Olympic Games -- to bring the Brazilian women back to London, something the Brazilian men had failed to accomplish the night before.

 

With every eye in the arena on her and the country's Olympic hopes on her shoulders, Hypolito delivered, nailing her flight series (two back handsprings to a layout landed on two feet) and landing a good double pike dismount. She could not even make it down the steps of the podium before having to sit down and let the emotions out. Her teammates clustered around her, crying and hugging. 

 

Hypolito and Daiane dos Santos are 27 and 28 years old, respectively, second and third only to the great Oksana Chusovitina for longevity in this sport. They have been on the Brazilian national team longer than some of the country's 2016 Olympic hopefuls have been alive.

 

They have had great success -- Hypolito earned Brazil's first World medal, a silver on floor, in 2001, dos Santos Brazil's first World title, also on floor, in 2003. But they have also endured a lot for gymnastics -- Hypolito, finanacial difficulties, dos Santos a short suspension earlier in the quad for using a diuretic when she was out of competition recovering from surgery.

 

Neither has ever given up. They have been shown up fit and prepared for competition after competition, year in and year out, made final after final, helped to eke out a place for Brazil among the world's "gymnastics nations." Any success they have at the Olympics and beyond is largely due to their efforts -- not just Wednesday night in London, but during the past 14 years.

 

So that did it: Brazil was in, and Belgium, in fourth place going into the final subdivision, was out. That's disappointing for the Belgians, who looked better here than they did at Worlds. But they have a lot to look forward to, including performing before a home crowd at the European Championships this spring as well as at next year's Worlds. 

 

The Belgian Federation will have the chance to name their Olympian (likely to be either Julie Croket or Aagje Vanwalleghem), and they have a strong group of junior gymnasts just offstage. 2012-2016 should be good years for this country, which like Brazil, seems on the cusp of becoming known as a great gymnastics country. The Belgian women who competed in London this year will be able to say they had a part in that as well.