The young superstar is already set up for an incredible Olympic career, and it will all begin Sunday in Rio.
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The 2015 world championships bronze medallists Great Britain are likely to contend with Russian Federation and China for a podium place.
Led by veteran Olympian Aly Raisman, this USA squad is arguably the best in history, with world champion Simone Biles, Olympic medalist Gabby Douglas, Madison Kocian and Laurie Hernandez.
It also recorded the best scores on the floor exercise (Biles), vault (Biles) and uneven bars (Madison Kocian).
A US athlete posted the highest score on all four events to post a total score of 185.238. Uneven bars is where Kocian shines; she’s the 2015 world co-champion on the event.
The Canadians narrowly missed qualifying for the team final, a step back from four years ago when they finished in fifth.
Raisman, meanwhile, will have a second shot at reaching the podium after finishing fourth in the individual all-around in 2012. Douglas was about a half-point behind Raisman with 60.131 points.
An awe-inspiring performance even meant that Gabby Douglas, the defending Olympic all-around gymnastics champion, failed to qualify for the all-around final on a technicality. The gymnast didn’t seem too upset about it, though.
Raisman, the team captain, decried the two-per-country rule in the all-around.
“She said ‘I believe in you, and you can go out and do it, ‘” Douglas said. It’s been an wonderful experience so far. “You know what? I’m just going to go out here and not listen to any negative thing and really shine bright”.
For her part, Douglas was upbeat, saying the rule was “fine” and that her four years as Olympic All-Around champion were an “amazing ride”. Her score of 62.366 was well clear of teammate Aly Raisman.
Women’s Uneven Bars Final, Sunday, August 14 at 4:21p.m.
Gymnast Simone Biles has quickly become a household name in not only the United States, but in competitive gymnastics worldwide.
Tuesday the United States is expected to repeat the gold it won easily in 2012 and give it to Karolyi as a retirement present. Three of those medals were won by current members of the squad, with Raisman afforded the opportunity to defend one of those titles this year (balance beam). The top 24 finishers advance to the all-around finals and the American team is so dominant that if not for the rule the entire five-person team would probably advance.
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Though they may not have coined a nickname yet such as the 2012’s “Fierce Five”, the 2016 us women’s gymnastics team took the floor yesterday for the preliminary round and showed the world that they, too, are incredibly fierce.
