Why the third gymnast on a team can't compete

I've been watching the Olympics... it was interesting to watch ping pong, the way the guys would hold the ball, stare at it, try to "be the ball" before they served, so funny...and some kind of hand-soccer game that I'd never seen before...

Anyway, gymnastics. Jordyn Wieber, supposedly the best woman on the US team, placed third behind her countrywomen. So 2 girls - but not her - get to go  to the team finals.

A caller said:

CALLER:  The judges, they don't let them compete.  They changed the rules a couple years back that they take the top two from each country to compete in the finals.  So in the case of the USA, we have three girls, and only two can go, so the third girl, she doesn't get to compete in the finals, even though she would be the top four or five in 24 competing

And called this an example of socialism.

I've been trying to find out if this was a rule newly instituted, but haven't been able to do so.

Meantime there's also been controversy on the men's side, where the Japanese protested a score, the judges got together, looked at video, and said, yeah, he should have been scored higher - when everyone agreed he deserved his first mark.


 Ah, the joys of the Olympics