Biles will likely have the opportunity to challenge for five gold medals, while the remainder of the team has proven that they can outclass even their toughest competition. Her cumulative score of 62.366 was almost four points better than any other gymnast not on her team. Come Tuesday night, the USA women will win their second consecutive Olympic title.
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Reigning three-time world all-around champion Simone Biles will lead the bid for a team gold medal tonight.
Biles will be backed up by teammates Aly Raisman, also through in the all-around, and Gabby Douglas, who will not defend her individual title after she ranked third of the U.S. women in qualifiers.
Raisman’s parents also made headlines on Monday for their (again) squirmy reactions during the competition on Sunday.
The 19-year-old gymnast, along with teammate Aly Raisman, advanced to the finals for women’s all-around.
According to NBC Olympics, many expected that Biles will be the top qualifier of three finals events-balance beam, vault, and floor. Biles has won 14 world medals (10 gold, two silver, two bronze), the most for a US female gymnast.
As the US women’s gymnastics team prepares to take the floor in Tuesday’s team all-around final in Rio de Janeiro, 5,000 miles away Robert Andrews will be triple-checking the Wi-Fi connection in his Houston home.
“The announcer here said, ‘Simone Biles, making it look effortless, ‘” the insider said.
Here’s the reason for the rule, at least as best as I can figure (and I concede I’m no expert on gymnastics): The sport doesn’t want one country walking home with all the medals. Simone, an OH native, was too young to qualify for the 2012 Olympics, but made her senior debut the next year and has dominated women’s gymnastics ever since. Theoretically, that shouldn’t be an issue. Yet after the USA went 16 for 16 during an occasional show stopping 90 minutes, they hardly seem overburdened by the stakes. Biles is the clear favorite in the all-around. “‘She is incredibly dynamic on the floor.’ The announcer also called out her move, The Biles!”
“It’s not really a bummer”, Douglas said. It’s not a question of if but rather by how much. “It’s 3-up, 3-count. It’s pressure on everybody, no matter who are you are, what country you compete for”. And I do believe in myself. When there were more members on a squad than just five.
Gabby Douglas will not be defending her Olympic all-around title after a shocking elimination on Sunday. They were part of the Fierce Five that won gold in London.
“I feel like the two-per-country rule is fine”, Douglas said, via USA Today. Coach Martha Karolyi criticized the rule, saying that it allowed “lower level” participants in the finals but added that it forced her athletes to compete harder.
“We thank everyone for all the support”, Raisman said.
“The meet was finally over”, Biles recalled thinking “and we’re officially Olympians”.
As for the rest of the newcomers, Hernandez is the youngest at 16. Team mate Aly Raisman had the second-highest score of 60.607. It included a tremendous performance on the balance beam, her final event of the competition.
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“I wish they would change it, but I don’t think they ever will”, Raisman said. “I was like, ‘Whoa!'” Unlike the other seven, the Americans didn’t slip off uneven bars. Nor is winning two medals on every event except vault. The same could be said about this team.
