Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 11/08/2016.
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So much for the pressure getting to Simone Biles.
She may be shorter than most gymnasts, but the dynamo is going down in history as one of the best in the business.
And despite a disappointing worlds in October the reigning Olympic floor champion was the only gymnast to hit all her routines at the USA championships and trials.
Not Raisman. During her very first competition back in March 2015, she was not only back to her level of difficulty on floor from her Olympic title-winning routine in London, she had exceeded it. They have the potential to sweep all four events, with Simone likely to leave Rio with an unheard-of five Olympic gold medals. I just have two Olympic gold medals now.
There will come a time when we have perspective and can look back at the 2016 Summer Games as the pivotal moment when a beaming 4-foot-8 teenager tumbled her way to greatness, soared to Olympic gold and vaulted gymnastics to previously unimagined heights.
On a Wheaties box one day, they find themselves sitting at home watching a new generation of gymnasts on television the next.
For her part, Biles remains humble being mentioned in the same breath as other Olympic greats. She recovered and now has two gold medals to show for it. Harrison even created her own organization, the Fearless Foundation, which helps survivors of sexual abuse through sports and education. She doesn’t just continue to win, she pulls herself in front of the competition to lengths never seen before. “I’m sure most people don’t go into it thinking they can beat Usain Bolt, so it’s kind of the same thing”. In the final rotation, Raisman made a mistake on beam and tied Russia’s Aliya Mustafina for third. “I wish that they would change it but I don’t think that they ever will”, Raisman said.
All-around is the summit of women’s gymnastics, a battle across vault, uneven bars, beam and floor between 24 of the sport’s top athletes.
It gets a little trickier after that, if only because of unfortunate timing. She, like Biles, got to end the competition on floor and also like Biles needed a score she could easily reach to be position for a silver medal. She’s nearly certain to collect another gold medal with the team the overwhelming favorite to win it all.
Not only was Biles’ margin of victory the biggest ever in women’s gymnastics, it’s larger than the margins of victory from 1980 to 2012 combined.
“She is the most powerful, dynamic gymnast I have ever seen”.
Martha’s husband, Bela Karolyi, didn’t disagree.
“I just really wanted to do a good bar set and really swing and just flow and stick the dismount – the polishing touch”, she said. Those are the culminations of our career..
As Raisman came off floor, she sobbed and waved to the crowd.
But any thoughts of the Russian recording a shock victory were quickly extinguished as Biles produced a fine beam effort to take her clear of her opponents. So you never can think I am done.
Watching from close by was Aimee Boorman, who has coached Biles for almost the gymnasts whole career. She’s certainly doing the most hard work we’ve ever seen, says Christine Still, a gymnastics coach and member of BBC Sport’s commentary team. The first time she vaulted, she stopped on the first one, sailed way over on the second and scored a zero. I just stay out of it. “For me, the most special was my first, from Nadia, and the last, from Simone”.
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“Well, obviously, yes!” she said with emphasis, as if to say, “Duh!”
