A crowd of 3,674 watched Team USA win 13 individual medals last night, the most of any country.

The Americans finished the three-day competition with 44 medals, including 29 golds, followed by China (22 medals), Canada (16), Russia (14), Australia (11), Japan (9), Mexico (3), Chinese Taipei (1) and Malaysia (1).

"I think our performance showed how strong we are and how prepared we are," said Team USA's Morgan Hamm, who won a gold medal in the floor exercise and tied his brother Paul for the bronze in the pommel horse. "The rest of the world is going to look at this and say, 'Wow, USA is on the move.' Hopefully we'll be able to keep the momentum going."

The international competition was called by organizers as the most prestigious gymnastics event ever hosted in Honolulu, and a preview of August's Olympic Games.

The competition featured more than a dozen countries from the Pacific Rim, including women's world champion Team USA and men's world champion China.

"Our team is so strong, we have enough girls to make two incredible teams," said Team USA's Alicia Sacramone, who won her first international gold medal in the vault last night. "We have so many girls who are so talented and gifted that we can be triumphant in both."

This week, Team USA turned in a brilliant showing for the competition. The USA men and women each won senior team titles, and Paul Hamm and Allyse Ishino each won all-around gold medals.

Paul Hamm finished with six individual medals, including gold-medal finishes in last night's vault and high bar.

On the women's side, Carly Patterson won gold medals in the balance beam and floor exercise, Sacramone won gold in the vault, and Katie Heenan won the uneven bars last night.

"We couldn't have asked for anything more," said USA Gymnastics President Bob Colarossi, who leads the governing body of gymnastics in the United States. "We made a big change after the showing we had at the Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000. (The women finished fourth; the men fifth.) The plan we put in place is obviously working. Sometimes dreams come true. Tonight it did."

In terms of competition quality, the Pacific Alliance Gymnastics Championships ranks third behind the 2004 Olympic Games and the World Championships because the Hawai'i competition only features Pacific Rim countries, and not European countries, according to U.S. officials.