Being just 4-foot-4, Saraiva is one of the lightest beam workers in Rio, meaning that she seems to float about the 4-inch-wide wooden beam. And Biles is still in the hunt for two more of the medals which she said are surprisingly heavy.
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Biles’ triumph is the first in the Olympics by an American woman on vault, and her first vault title in a major worldwide competition.
MUSTAFINA’S METTLE: Aliya Mustafina of Russian Federation defended her gold medal on uneven bars, edging American Madison Kocian in a taut final. Biles scored a 15.900 on her first and a 16.033 on her second for a final score of 15.966.
On the men’s side, Eleftherios Petrounias of Greece won the Olympic gold medal in men’s still rings. While it was still good enough for bronze behind gold medalist Sanne Wevers of the Netherlands and silver medalist Laurie Hernandez of the US, it also means Biles’ bid to become the first woman to win five golds in a single Olympics is over. The mistake was reflected in her resulting score of 14.733.
On the balance beam, she has two world titles, and on the floor, she’s a three-time champion.
No, the disappointment came from one missed skill in an otherwise handsome routine. Of course, many eyes will be on the third of those events, with Simone Biles set to compete for her fourth gold medal. ‘I decided not to go all out but to play safe and it went off perfectly, ‘ she said after her performance.
Gymnasts have a saying: “I just want to go four for four”.
After Biles won team and all-around gold medals at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, she and teammate Aly Raisman, who has a gold and a silver, wore their medals for a television show.
Other medal contenders will be Japan’s Kenzo Shirai, known as the “Twist Prince” for his ease with twisting skills, and Ukraine’s Oleg Verniaiev, who already won all-around silver in Rio.
LONE RUSSIAN: The lone Russian track and field athlete at the Olympics has won her appeal to compete in Rio.
“I feel very excited, because having gone to worlds and having two silvers and a bronze, it means a lot to me”.
Uzbekistan’s Oksana Chusovitina, 41, who was looking to become the oldest gymnast to win an Olympic medal, finished seventh out of eight finalists in her seventh Olympic Games.
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We’ll say this for Onyshko and her coach: Their relationship is a good one.
