Teammate Aly Raisman captured silver, redemption of a sort after she just missed a bronze medal four years ago.The American women stole the show.
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Biles is now the second American to pull off the feat as she won her second gold medal in Rio by destroying the competition in the individual all-around finals on August 11.Biles won the individual all-around with a total score of 62.198; it was the largest margin of victory over the rest of field in Olympics history.
When national team coordinator Martha Karolyi was asked whom she would deem the best, she gave the names of two gymnasts who won gold 40 years apart: Nadia Comaneci, from Karolyi’s homeland of Romania, practitioner of the ideal 10, and Biles, who performs tricks that have shot the sport into another galaxy.
Biles became the fourth straight American woman to win the all-around title and fifth overall while cementing her reputation as the best of her generation and perhaps ever.
But in the 2016 Olympic women’s all-around finals it was another event, the balance beam, that proved how talented Biles is and showcased the gifts you may not notice during one of her trademark high-flying tumbling passes. Between her results across the four all-around apparatuses and the last few years tearing through worldwide gymnastics competitions, Biles is operating on a level in her sport equaled only by the world’s best across all athletics.
Before Thursday, the only time American women had taken both gold and silver in the all-around was in 2008, when Liukin won and Shawn Johnson took second. Raisman got emotional as soon as she landed, then told Biles to go out and stick it.
But listen to Biles and she’ll try to convince you that she’s just Simone from Texas.
Her competition schedule and rigorous training made it hard for her to maintain a traditional high school education. She, Biles and Raisman claimed the top three slots Sunday during qualifiers for the event.
Here’s the other thing: Even though it was a victory that had been long predicted – “For, like, years”, Raisman, a two-time Olympian, said with a laugh – the story of how Biles arrived at this moment and delivered on it is hardly routine or stripped of wonder.
“It doesn’t even feel real”, Biles said.
Murphy won gold in the 200-meter backstroke Thursday night to go with his gold in the 100-meter backstroke on Monday. Her older siblings were adopted by her grandfather, Ron’s, sister.
Fiji, which has a population of just 900,000, regularly holds its own against much larger countries in worldwide rugby.
“We just kind of zoned in on these very focused, intense workouts after San Jose”, she said.
The remarkable Olympics career of Michael Phelps just keeps on getting better.
Watching from close by was Aimee Boorman, who has coached Biles for almost the gymnast’s whole career.
“In practice, I’ve seen her leaps be better”, Boorman said.
“Everything she did was ugly”, Boorman said. We’ve been lucky to have seen them both.
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The competition is not over for these two athletes. However, a rule that allows only two women from each team to compete in the all-around final left Douglas shut out. The caiman, a small crocodile, and the corujas are burrowing owls, some of whom have taken up residence in the course’s bunkers.
