On Sunday, Team USA dominated team qualification.
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In qualifying, four competitors from each country compete on each apparatus with only the top three scores counting towards the total. The U.S.is the favorite to win team gold. Therefore, the fans believe Douglas should have been in the finals with superstar Biles, not Raisman.
In short, this is the team to beat.
Analysts may not be wrong – 2nd place may be the true battle in these Olympic gymnastics. Nobody can touch this group, which compares favorably with the best USA women’s gymnastics teams of all time.
Simone Biles has been called “the top gymnast in history”, and she’s already set a couple of records for winning the highest number of gold medals ever at world championships and winning three all-around titles in a row there, according to The New York Times. The 19-year-old led the field in qualification in all-around (62.366), vault (16.050), beam (15.633) and floor (15.733). She’s nearly certain to collect another gold medal with the team the overwhelming favorite to win it all.
“It wasn’t 100% perfection, but we showed our gymnastics is on the highest level”, said Martha Karolyi, the national team coordinator. Ellie Downie of Britain suffered a fall on her neck to end a tumbling pass on floor.
The U.S. team brings an intimidating resume: It has won every major worldwide title (World Championship or Olympics) since 2011-that’s three worlds (2011, 2014, 2015) and one Games. No other gymnast from a non-U.S. country even broke a 59.
Though Douglas had a great competition, she simply didn’t have enough difficulty in her routines to keep up with Raisman, who had been beating her throughout 2016.
Douglas, the first African-American to win all-around gold and then help the United States to the women’s team title in 2012, had been bidding to become the first woman since 1968 to win back-to-back all-around gold.
Fierce Fiver Aly Raisman, who finished second in qualifying to make the all-around final, will do those same three events. All five women earned a spot in either the all-around or event finals, or in the case of Biles and Raisman, both.
For those who want to watch the Rio Olympics Gymnastics competition, audiences can watch on NBC at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 10, or they can watch live online.
Raisman hit what she said is the best Amanar of her life. “I’m pretty pleased with everything overall, and I’m still rejoicing because there’s nothing to be ashamed about”. Preliminary scores are wiped out before Tuesday’s team event.
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Further qualifying takes place Sunday night. Back in 2012, she found herself on the wrong side of a tie breaking procedure in the all-around final.
