Olympic gymnasts Jonathan Horton and Courtney Kupets Carter will be providing analysis and commentary on subdivision 4. She and Raisman – the 2012 floor exercise gold medallist – are competing in their second Olympics.
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RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – The nerves were there. During the qualifying round, each team is assigned a subdivision; there are five subdivisions for the women, and three for the men (if you’re trying to find them in the Rio Olympic start lists, the USA women are in subdivision 4, and will compete August 8 at 4:30pm EDT; the US men are in subdivision 2 and competed August 6). On vault and floor too.
“Our team is really strong, and I think we’re going to go out there and dominate”, Hernandez said.
One no opponent is close to reaching. This U.S.is that loaded.
Gymnast Simone Biles has quickly become a household name in not only the United States, but in competitive gymnastics worldwide.
Many of her competitors merely heaped on the praise. “It just goes and it just flows”, she said. We really have been a team from start to finish. According to Martha Karolyi, that is a luxury that’s few and far between.
Tough. That’s exactly the lofty perch the US women seem destined for after a dominating Sunday qualifying round that demonstrated the rest of the world’s female gymnasts are strictly competing for silver at Rio. On balance beam, first-year senior Laurie Hernandez will have a chance to shine as she competes with the Americans’ three all-arounders – Biles, Douglas and Raisman.
Biles, Douglas and Raisman will compete on all four events and be eligible for the all-around, but only the top two will advance to the final. Not that she was moping.
Biles, the last to go on the final rotation for the US women on balance beam, hit an inspiring routine and then let out all of her emotions, dancing off the podium to her awaiting teammates, who came together in a group hug as chants of “U-S-A!”
Many reigning world gymnastics champions have come to conquer the Olympics only to crumble under the weight of expectation and become victims of what is known as the “curse of the world champion”.
“The challenge is that you have to hit that day, and so anything can happen”, said Hilliard.
She won three gold medals at the 2004 games and a silver and bronze in London. “What I’m trying to do is get the most out of every single person”.
Tutkhalian, 17, surged ahead of teammate Aliya Mustafina, 21, a four-time medallist at the 2012 Games, who took a tumble off the beam. “They are unbeatable at the moment”. While each have their strengths, the truth is the USA has few weaknesses.
Although none of Sunday’s scores will be carried through to the team final, there will be no room for error on Tuesday. Yet after the USA went 16 for 16 during an occasionally showstopping 90 minutes, they hardly seem overburdened by the stakes.
The five-woman U.S. team, winners in 2012, lead 2008 Olympic champions China by over ten points with Russian Federation third after four of five subdivisions with Japan, Canada and France competing later Sunday. How hard will it be?
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The 22-year-old seemed like she was going to coast into the all-around with a steady routine, before a major balance check on her side aerial. When he asked her recently if this was her final go-round, she joked “wait and see honey”.
