Unmistakable. Unavoidable. Standing in the darkened tunnel before entering Rio Olympic Arena on Sunday night, the USA women’s gymnastics team felt the pressure that comes not from outside expectations but those held within.
Advertisement
Russian Federation took silver with a score of 271.453 and China, which won gold in London, settled for bronze this year with a score of 271.122. She made history by winning 14 world championship medals which are more than any American female has ever won. An unreal 38.7 million viewers (especially in today’s online streaming culture) tuned in to watch the final night of gymnastics in London in 2012, and this past Sunday’s women’s gymnastics competitions provided a hint that we’re in for the same type of TV numbers. “She is a big talent, but she proved also at controlling herself and how she is able to perform under pressure”. We don’t want to beat this (country) or that.
That may be the most impressive thing about this group. It will be which teams get silver and bronze behind them.
Douglas will still have plenty to keep her busy in Rio.
Douglas’ impressive performance silenced critics who questioned her spot on the team after a lackluster Olympic trials, where she fell off the balance beam both nights and placed seventh in the all-around.
Simone Biles went to live with her grandparents in Texas while their mother struggled with drugs and alcohol in OH, and was adopted when the birth mother’s parental rights were terminated.
Because only two team members can compete in the all-around finals, Simone Biles, 19, and Aly Raisman, 22, will be representing Team USA as they took the top scores. There was yelling and fist-pumping as the USA men came roaring back with medal-worthy performances on vault, parallel bars and, before a final fall by Danell Leyva, on high bar.
Nicknamed “the Michael Jordan of gymnastics”, three-time world champion Biles is poised to become one of the brightest stars of the Rio Games.
It’s true that the level of competition in the world has fallen considerably.
But even if that wasn’t the case, it likely wouldn’t matter.
Douglas’s teammates raved about her performance and lamented that she wouldn’t get a chance to compete for all-around gold. “They are unbeatable at the moment”.
Advertisement
It’s impossible to compare eras, particularly with the change in the scoring system in 2006. But if the Fierce Five was arguably the most dominant team under the open-ended system – they beat Russian Federation by a little more than five points – this team is better.
