BEIJING Chinas mens gymnastics team won the Olympic gold medal that it has long craved.

Its score of 286.125 on Tuesday was more than seven points ahead of Japan, the defending Olympic champion. The Americans, were in the running for the silver until their last two events and wound up with the bronze.

Xiao Qin had the crowd oohing and aahing, his hands a blur as he worked in a smooth, staccato rhythm. His body was a perfect plane and his every move was done with perfect control. When he finished, he pumped his fists, smiling broadly at his teammates.

On still rings, the Chinese were simply dazzling.

Yang Wei moved effortlessly - the bulging veins in his arm and forehead were the only sign of exertion. He took a small hop forward on his landing, but he grinned as he exchanged a high-five with Chen.

As impressive as Yang was, Chen was even better. Hes the two-time world champion on rings, and its easy to see why. When he lifted his body into a plane, his arms extended out, his back was so straight you could iron on it. He moved so seamlessly that it seemed there had to be a wire guiding him, and he held his strength moves for what seemed like minutes, never showing the slightest sign that his muscles were screaming. Indeed, he could have gone on for another five minutes without flinching. The Chinese finished the event - the third - behind the Americans, but that was simply math.

The Japanese didnt have their trademark polish or grace, but their raw talent was more than enough to claim the silver medal.

They looked sluggish on pommel horse - typically one of their best events - and were sloppy on floor exercise. Koki Sakamoto put way too much power into his vault and actually stepped off the padding, a big no-no.

But they rallied with their final two events, parallel bars and high bar. Hiroyuki Tomita, the 2006 world all-around champion, came to a dead stop as he flipped into a handstand on parallel bars, looking as if he was posing for an artist. His toes were perfectly pointed, his body straight as an arrow.

Their technique on high bar was exquisite, their feet never crossing or their legs splitting as they flipped high above the bar. When Tomita finished his routine, Japans last of the day, the team cheered.

But reigning Olympic champion Paul Hamm broke his hand in May and couldnt recover in time, withdrawing July 28. On Thursday, an ankle injury knocked out Morgan Hamm.

Still, they gutted out one impressive routine after another Tuesday. Jonathan Horton threw himself so far into the air on his high bar release moves the folks in the lower rows had to look up to see him, and he caught the bar on the way down each time as easily as if he was grabbing a drink.

When he stuck his dismount, Raj Bhavsar jumped up and down. Justin Spring was just as good, with his flips and twists. He did a triple somersault for his dismount, and he got such great air, he landed halfway down the podium.

Those routines put the Americans solidly in second, behind the Chinese, with two events to go. But they had uncharacteristic struggles on floor, and they slipped behind the Japanese going to pommel horse, their last event - and their weakest.