Sabae, Japan -- Romania defended its women's gymnastics team world championship Saturday while the United States slipped to third.
The Romanians won their fourth team gold, ending with 387.865 to 386.476 for China, which defended its men's team championship Friday.
The U.S. team, second after the compulsory exercises that account for half the score, slipped to third with 384.705 after two consecutive silver medals.
In individual qualifying, 1993 and 1994 champion Shannon Miller stood sixth with 77.698 and 14-year-old Dominique Moceanu, who overtook Miller this year for the U.S. national championship, was eighth with 77.435. Both had their best marks on the balance beam -- 9.837 for Miller and 9.812 for Moceanu.
Moceanu made the last vault, a 9.612, that kept the Americans barely ahead of the Russians in the medal race.
Russia, third after the compulsories, finished just .016 behind the Americans with 384.689. As with the Russian men's team, which also finished fourth, it was the first time out of the medals for the Soviet Union and its Russian successor since both the Soviet men and women won gold in 1954.
