Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas finished 1-2-3 respectively after four of five subdivisions has performed.
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So it was up the all-around race to provide the drama: three of the US women were eligible, but only two would be allowed to advance due to the two-per-country rule.
Gabby Douglas, who became the first American to win gold in both the team competition and the individual all-around in 2012, won’t be given a chance to defend her gold in the all-around even though she had the third-highest score of 61 participants in qualification. Biles’s final score was an eye-popping 62.366, almost two points ahead of Raisman.
Which is why when Raisman was asked what she and her teammates needed to improve upon Tuesday, her response was matter of fact without a hint of conceit.
It must have felt like deja vu to Raisman.
It’s not the first the Raismans have caught the attention of the crowd. Raisman helped Team USA qualify for the team finals, and she scored a spot in the individual all-around finals, so we’ll be seeing a lot more of Lynn and Rick. She finished as the top qualifier to the all around final by nearly two points.
Aly Raisman competing on the uneven bars on the second day of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Rio Olympic Arena, Aug. 7, 2016.
But Douglas’ pain and frustration is Raisman’s joy.
Biles was also the top qualifier to three event finals, as many predicted: balance beam, vault and floor.
At the preliminaries, our team dominated, landing almost a whopping 10 points ahead of second-place team China-and Simone Biles and Aly Raisman qualified for the all-around final. Douglas was almost 1.5 points better than the fourth-place finisher, which is a huge margin in gymnastics.
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Watch Jonathan Horton and Courtney Kupets Carter recap today’s competition in The Daily Dismount, a digital show hosted by Tanith Belbin.
