WASHINGTON -- A stereotype exists in the United States and elsewhere: Japanese are risk-avoiders while Americans are risk-takers.
To some, this putatively explains why the Japanese economy fell behind the U.S. during the 1990s. But sometimes a stereotype such as this needs a reality check. And such a check came in the finals of the Olympic Games Men's Team Gymnastics competition.
At the beginning of the final round of this competition, the high bar, both the U.S. and the Japanese teams were slightly behind the Romanian team. The Romanian team went first on the high bar, and, in succession, the three Romanian competitors made major mistakes, costing them any opportunity to win a gold medal.