Now that the USA women’s gymnastics team has claimed the gold medal, we hope Lynn and Rick can finally breathe. until the individual competition is over, that is. With three straight world all-around titles in a row, her Olympic victory gives her the distinction of being the only woman to win every major worldwide competition in a single Olympic quadrennium, the “grand slam” of gymnastics.
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“For me, the most special was my first one, Nadia, and my last one, Simone”, said Martha Karolyi, the national team coordinator who coached Comaneci in Romania before defecting to the U.S. To me, I’m just the same Simone. “I just happen to have two Olympic gold medals now and I feel like I really did my job tonight”.
A second gold in Rio after Tuesday’s team title has completed the incredible rise in just 3 years from obscurity to stardom for the 4-foot-9 gymnast who had to overcome early difficulties in her life. She was just a hair behind Mustafina, after all, and was headed into two events where she is the defending world champion, beam and floor. “I don’t see anyone else win three world championships and an Olympic title”.
Nevertheless, Biles regained the advantage with a score of 15.433 on beam, before she ended with her best tally, 15.933, on the floor.
So convincingly that she momentarily lost the lead, trailing Russia’s Aliya Mustafina by.034 points after the vault and uneven bars, and no one batted a fake eyelash.
Biles scored a 15.933 on her floor exercise to continue the Americans’ dominance, following Carly Patterson (2004), Nastia Liukin (2008) and Gabby Douglas (2012) as all-around Olympic champions.
Biles, Raisman and their coaches Aimee Boorman and Mihai Brestyan hugged as cameramen surrounded them. She did “Simone things” as many on the internet say about her predictably spectacular lines. “It’s about having patience and working on little things”. “But whatever she was doing I want her to have the best outcome”, she added.
If she leaves it for others to decide, Biles wins in a landside. Raisman was officially an Olympic all-around medalist and could spend the final moments of what is likely her last all-around competition cheering on her teammate Biles, who also finished up her day with brilliant work on floor.
Where to start judging Biles after her romp to gold in the gymnastics all around?
Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu – nicknamed the “Iron lady” – is favorite to win a fourth gold medal in the finals of the women’s 200m breaststroke.
Biles was too young for London 2012, not that she was competitive with any member of the Fierce Five then anyway. “I wasn’t upset. I was just relieved that bars were over, because I’ve been struggling with that”.
Biles got into gymnastics because she enjoyed being unhinged and loved the feeling of flying.
“Everything she did was ugly”, Boorman said.
Was there pressure to prove she was the greatest female gymnast in history?
The 19-year-old African-American acrobat out of Spring, Texas, has completely dominated the events she has appeared in so far during the 2016 Olympics in Rio, earning two gold medals.
Shannon Biles has limited contact with her daughter, saying they speak by phone about every three months and she’ll occasionally attend a competition.
With no major mistakes on any of her four apparatuses, Biles sailed to her win with a score of 62.198, a whopping 2.1 points over silver medalist Aly Raisman.
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Asked if her Olympic triumph confirmed her as greatest ever, she shrugged, giggled and shook her head.
