The tears began flowing seconds after Aly Raisman finished her floor exercise routine Thursday afternoon.
The 22-year-old from Massachusetts, captain of the United States women's gymnastics team for the second consecutive Olympics, had just nailed the most important 90 seconds of her career. And she knew it.
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Athletics in America tend to be framed in exceptionalist terms, in which second place is just the "first loser." That's an appellation that could never be applied to Raisman, who has spent her three days of competition in Rio performing at the absolute maximum of her abilities and was rewarded with a silver medal.