Like Nicki Minaj would say, “But I got ’em aggy, cause I win the gold like Gabby”. And it was the team most expected.
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As for the newcomers, Hernandez is a second-generation Puerto Rican and the first US-born Latina to go to the Olympics with the United States gymnastics team since Tracee Talavera in 1984.
“I had in my mind this team”, Karolyi said. “Whatever happens, happens. I can’t control who makes the team or not”. Martha Karolyi announced the team after two days at the US Olympic Trials in San Jose, California.
Douglas, who finished second in the all-around event at the 2015 World Championships, will have a chance at redemption by improving on the uneven bars and adding a more hard element to her vaulting.
Biles’ spot on the team has all but been guaranteed for years.
Simone Biles, 19, remains the favorite to win the all-around title despite a fall off the balance beam at the USA trials.
Hernandez, meanwhile, continued her rise this spring. The two were the best gymnasts in the country on bars, the event the U.S.is the weakest on. Gabby has been in the news recently because she sidelined one of her coaches in order to help her find the joy in the sport again.
“She’s a different person”, 2008 Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson said.
What can we expect from her in Rio?: Barring complete and utter catastrophe, Simone should walk away with at least three gold medals-from the team, all-around, and floor exercise competitions. Both women won team and individual golds at the London Olympic Games in 2012. Before dismounting on a remarkable routine that saw her score a 15.250, Raisman let out a tiny breath.
Douglas, it turns out, won a silver medal in the all-around competition despite fracturing her knee while performing a 21/2 turn on a vault the day before leaving for Scotland to the competition October 23-Nov. 1. She ranked seventh in the all-around at trials.
“I don’t think there’s a good enough word to describe the feeling besides… happier than happy and relieved”, Biles said.
Black, white, Latina, Jewish: these are the faces of the 2016 U.S. women’s gymnastics team headed to the games this August in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
To be sure, that has been clearer than even the line-up of this team.
Nichols, who finished sixth overall with a combined total of 117.600, was not one of the five gymnasts selected for Rio, nor was she named among the team’s three alternates.
They’ll head to Rio with even loftier expectations. She scored three medals in the 2012 games, including a gold for her floor routine.
The question is, can the Americans sweep all six gold medals?
“It killed me this weekend”, she said.
It’s a fine line Karolyi believes she has found a way to straddle effectively while building a dynasty that hasn’t lost a major worldwide competition in eight years. “It just motives me to work even harder under pressure”.
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“We haven’t had time to think about it (Rio), we are just celebrating living in the moment”, said Biles.
