In addition to being part of the gold-medal team in London, Raisman also won gold on floor exercise.
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Raisman and Douglas are the only holdovers from the London team, although with Raisman it’s not always apparent she’s a veteran. Biles, 19, is the most decorated female gymnast of all time and will look to win the all-around gold and add an Olympic gold medal to her growing list of accolades.
Raisman came close to losing her edge when she almost fell off the beam at the end of her routine, but she saved it. She is sure making up for it every chance she gets, and is well on her way to leading her and her four teammates to gold.
As one Olympic era opened, another closed. “We have team and then event finals, and that’s really special for all of us”. On one day, someone is the best, not counting Simone, the next day someone else is. “So you kind of need that one person to rally everyone”. Biles scored 62.366 to win by more than 1.7 points.
So while she and coach Christian Gallardo would have loved for her to be able to defend the all-around title, there was no reason to blame the rule on a night when so much went so well for Douglas.
“I do a very good job at hiding it”, Biles said.
Italy’s Vanessa Ferrari, the 2006 world all-around champion, was top on the floor. There were jitters, of course, with everyone knowing just how much was at stake. But they’re also taking the time to explore the Athletes Village, mingle with other Olympians and make Rio feel like home. And just like the young women in the glittery red-and-blue leotards national team.
History shows it is exceedingly hard for gymnasts to win an all around gold twice. The gymnast didn’t seem too upset about it, though.
When the women got to the Olympic trials two weeks later, there were necklaces for each of them. Check out her impressive performance below.
Each women who competed for the USA did her part, just as Martha Karolyi had planned. “She’s kind of looking for, ‘Let’s make this flawless”. “Same thing we did tonight”.
The team came in ninth place with a score of 171.761. She finished with the best score on balance beam, vault, and floor. “Everyone knows struggle and that it can be a little rocky sometimes – for me it was very rocky – and people are drawn to that and inspired”. Women’s gymnastics will continue Tuesday and Thursday, and Team USA will continue to show why they are a heavy favorite.
The American women have been the top gymnasts in the world for six years.
Raisman narrowly edged out Douglas for that honor on Sunday.
“I didn’t train for four or five days because of my fever”, she said.
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“I just really wanted to do a good bar set and really swing and just flow and stick the dismount – the polishing touch”, she said. Romania, the London bronze medallists, failed to qualify a team. They are the defending gold medal winners from the 2012 Olympics.
