“I saw my coach in the stands but it’s just insane I don’t have words”, said Raisman.
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What Karolyi did not fathom in 2011 is now regarded as fact. And Biles is now the fourth different American gymnast to win the Olympic all-around title in the past four Summer Games, an unprecedented streak by any nation. And that Biles hasn’t started college. That would be five gold medals.
Inevitability confirmed, greatness verified, Biles turned human on us afterward. You wouldn’t expect that anywhere in the U.S.
But the thing about Biles is that she fights even though she doesn’t really need to.
Both Biles and Manuel are awesome athletes, but they also happen to be incredible black women.
Biles and her teammate Aly Riesman gave a almost ideal performance.
“We had many conversations”, Boorman said. “You don’t have to do this”. You don’t have to go this route. You can go and be a collegiate champion and be famous in college. “She was like, no, I want to do this”.
So Biles made the tearful, social life-sacrificing decision not to attend public high school, freeing up hours to pursue elite gymnastics.
She could be stubborn, but that was closely entwined with just being determined. “So it completely had to change her lifestyle”.
Karolyi and Boorman agreed in separate interviews that Biles’ improvement started showing in about one year.
“No”, she said again when asked about her place in history. All attempts since then have been unsuccessful, including 2008 Olympic all-around gold medalist Nastia Liukin’s own push in 2012. Many call Biles the best female gymnast ever, given her proclivity for choosing flips and twists with extra degrees of difficulty.
It’s only the second time that two United States gymnasts have finished 1-2 in an Olympic all-around.
Jones, who didn’t make this year’s Olympic team, tweeted out his pride in Manuel, calling her achievement “amazing”.
She could win five.
“People were like, she’s never going to make to the Olympics because of the curse, and you’re not going to pace her, and there’s no way you can maintain this level of excellence”, Boorman said.
She’s so good that Raisman admitted, “I wasn’t reaching to get a gold”.
No, Biles will never have an overall medal haul that will stack up with Michael Phelps.
Open champion Henrik Stenson is the favorite to bring home a gold medal for Sweden, followed by Sergio Garcia of Spain, Britain’s Justin Rose and Rickie Fowler and Bubba Watson of the U.S.
“A lot of people have said she won’t be the greatest until she wins the Olympic all-around”, Boorman said. “Excited, happy, proud of both me and Aly because we both went out there tonight and we did our jobs so I couldn’t ask for anything more”, said Biles.
“The floor was my best moment. She’s going to continue to do well at these Olympics”, Canadian gymnast Elsabeth Black predicted.
Something that seemed far from certain last fall. She also dominated the rest of the field in the vault and the balance beam to capture her second gold of the Olympics. “She’s certainly proven herself over the past three years that she’s the greatest”. The last Olympic tie for gold was in the men’s 50 free at the 2000 Sydney Games, when Americans Gary Hall Jr. and Anthony Ervin tied for the top spot on the podium.
Nobody is ruling out that Rio could be the end of Biles’ career.
Numerous kids get to see Biles practicing at the gym throughout the year.
“She’s been totally dedicated”, the coach said.
“This medal is not just for me”. Biles took first and Raisman placed second at the all-around competition last Sunday.
This was the day Raisman had been waiting for.
“The title of black swimmer suggests that I am not supposed to win golds or break records, but that’s not true because I train hard and want to win just like everyone else”.
Gabby Douglas watched Aly Raisman stick the dismount on the beam, then rose from her seat and gave her American teammate a big hug. Her poor performances have put her at risk of missing out on a medal in the Laser Radial class.
Compare the Comaneci and Biles routines from Montreal and Rio and you can see how the sport has evolved from elegant to electric.
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“Well we have the Kellogg’s Olympic Tour”, she said, referencing USA Gymnastics gala-like shows – 36 cities from September 15 to November 13.
