Before the Rio Olympics even started, it is a known fact that it will be a sure gold for the US for the team and all-around final.
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Three-time reigning world champion Simone Biles made her Olympic debut in flying fashion, going a flawless four-for-four and leading the individual competition by almost two points. Unmistakable. Unavoidable. Standing in the darkened tunnel before entering Rio Olympic Arena on Sunday night, the US women’s gymnastics team felt the pressure that comes not from outside expectations but those within. They are led by Kohei Uchimura, who is the favorite to win gold in the all-around individual event.
In fact, every single member of the team earn a spot in an apparatus final, as Biles proudly noted in the mixed zone after the competition. USA teammate Cody Miller was fifth with 59.17. She and Raisman were also neck-and-neck in the qualifiers for the 2012 London Games when Gabby took home the gold. Raisman previously won gold medals for both team and floor exercise, as well as a bronze medal for balance beam, at the 2012 Olympics in London. “It’s just really exciting that we finished qualifications as well as we did”. “Our routines have been so consistent”. That’s what people remember-the team competition.
“I just wanted to go out there, believe in my abilities and use the talent I was given”.
For Douglas, just getting to Rio was not easy, and the decision to allow her onto the five-woman USA team was a controversial one.
Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, Madison Kocian, Laurie Hernandez and Simone Biles already look ready to represent Team USA with pride.
Led by veteran Olympian Aly Raisman, this US squad is arguably the best in history, with world champion Simone Biles, Olympic medalist Gabby Douglas, Madison Kocian and Laurie Hernandez.
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Too young to compete in London, the acrobatic Biles has dominated the four-year Olympic cycle since, winning 10 world titles and is the overwhelming favourite to be the star of the Rio Olympic Arena. Raisman was second on the floor exercise. The uneven bars is Raisman’s weakest event, but she put up a solid 14.766 to hold her lead over her 2012 Olympic teammate. “She is a big talent, but she proved also at controlling herself and how she is able to perform under pressure”. Boorman has been her coach for more than a decade but words of encouragement from Karolyi are especially meaningful. Karolyi is retiring after the Games, though she’s hardly in a hurry to get there. Aly Raisman is the captain of the U.S. team, somehow still in her prime at 22.
