Father Charles Semperi, a pastor at St. James the Apostle, described the Biles family as “very faithful Catholics who are always at Mass” and that the gymnast “was very good in Confirmation class”.
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Gymnasts burst into the public eye every four years but, as they rarely make a splash at two successive Olympics, their stardom sometimes fades quickly. He added that he also gave her a St. Sebastian medal. “I’m at a loss for words”. On the second day of competition, Raisman competed on vault, balance beam, and floor exercise in the team final to help secure the gold medal for the U.S. Team and defend the title she earned with the Fierce Five in 2012.
Though they’ll go against one another Thursday, Raisman, 22, has nothing but praise for Biles.
With Biles, reigning Olympic all-round champion Gabby Douglas and 16-year-old Lauren Hernandez, the 2016 Olympic champion team is also the most diverse in the history of Team USA gymnastics.
Laurie Hernandez – who has been called “the human emoji” – said: “At least we got the medals”.
Shannon Miller, a member of the esteemed magnificent seven back in 1996, is back at the Olympics in Rio not to compete, but to help cheer on the new Final Five, and she has some ways on how we can support our athletes from home.
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During the first night of Women’s Gymnastics competition in the 2016 Summer Olympics, Raisman and the U.S women qualified in the team final in first place with a score of 185.238, nearly 10 points ahead of the second-place qualifying team.
