Were U.S. women's gymnasts undone by TV?

Video killed the balance beam star - at least some think so.

It could have been technology, not gamesmanship, that undid Alicia Sacramone in the U.S. women’s gymnastics team final, team officials suggested.

U.S. national team coordinator Martha Karolyi said a television delay broke Saramone's concentration. Karolyi initially suggested the attempt might have been deliberate, but soon softened that stance.

The delay came as the U.S. and host Chinese were in a tight race.

Sacramone, the first gymnast in the U.S. beam rotation, twice approached the balance beam and was twice told to wait. After a delay that seemed “like 5 minutes” to her, she said, she finally was allowed to mount.

She failed, falling off, the beginning of a ruinous routine that opened the door for China to win gold. The Americans took the silver, finishing more than two points behind the Chinese, with Romania earning the bronze.

Why the delay? Did the Chinese try to psyche her out?

No. There was no conspiracy, despite her handlers’ most sinister suggestions. Television needed time to adjust, Olympic officials said.  Others weren't so sure.

“There was a 2-minute delay, so the world feed could get Alicia’s routine into the world feed,” USA Gymnastics president Steve Penny told the Daily News several hours after the event. “That was unfortunate, but it is not unusual. The hold could have had an effect on Alicia.”

Immediately afterward, U.S. national team coordinator Martha Karolyi was asked if she believed the host nation somehow stalled the proceedings.

“I think so,” she said, then backtracked: “I have no way to know. It possibly could be. Possibly not.”

There was no doubt in Karolyi’s mind when she snagged Sacramone after the gymnast came off the beam. Karolyi grabbed Sacramone’s head and pressed hers to it, forehead-to-forehead:

“I told her, ‘Alicia: They tried to break your focus. You let them do that. Never let them do that. We work on that.'

“In my opinion it was an attempt to break concentration. That’s exactly what happened.”

Sacramone proceeded to fall during her subsequent floor routine, and stepped out of bounds as well.

“She falls because of her disappointment,” Karolyi said. “Unfortunately, she is the type of gymnast who is very emotional.”

Apparently, Sacramone is not the only one.