On one day, someone is the best, not counting Simone, the next day someone else is.
Advertisement
Download the Team USA app today for breaking news, 2016 U.S. Olympic Team bios, videos and more. That’s nearly 10 full points ahead of second place China with a 175.279.
At this point, the American women can just name their score.
“I’m very pleased, everything went 100 percent, but we don’t take anything for granted”, said team coordinator Martha Karolyi, emphasizing that qualifying scores do not carry over to Tuesday’s team final. Sunday’s next highest all-around score was 58.732 by Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade.
According to NBC Olympics, many expected that Biles will be the top qualifier of three finals events-balance beam, vault, and floor.
Raisman, meanwhile, will have a second shot at reaching the podium after finishing fourth in the individual all-around in 2012.
But perhaps the most exciting part of the session was the showdown between reigning Olympic all-around champion Gabby Douglas and 2012 floor gold medalist Aly Raisman, who were both vying for the second USA all-around spot in the final. Yet after the USA went 16 for 16 during an occasionally showstopping 90 minutes, they hardly seem overburdened by the stakes. Biles and Raisman are the two American female gymnasts who are qualified to advance to the all-around final. The intention of the rule is to discourage the monopolization of medals by a single country and to allow gymnasts from lesser known countries get an opportunity to make finals.
The U.S. was so dominant that the next two athletes in the all-around standings were Biles’ teammates, Alexandra Raisman (60.607) and defending Olympic all-around champion Gabby Douglas (60.131).
Douglas, who opened the evening’s competition on floor, improved as the night went along. Douglas and Raisman tied for seventh. It’s one she prides herself on, too, as much as her high-energy, higher-difficulty floor routines; her metronomic-like consistency on balance beam; her work ethic and her dependability.
Over the past decade, the United States has proven to be one of the driving forces in women’s gymnastics. Aiko Sugihara of Japan finished 19th all-around, but two teammates finished ninth and 12th. She let out a cry of delight when she finished her routine, getting a score of 15.633.
But having finally toppled China from their lofty perch at last year’s world championships in Glasgow, Uchimura hopes he can now lead his band of Japanese brothers to Rio glory.
Advertisement
The opening ceremony for the Rio Olympic Games can be seen August 5 on NBC. Before that was a fifth place finish in 1936. Biles was so far ahead going into the final event, the beam, she could have fallen, stopped to smoke a cigarette, yell at the judges and then do a crossword puzzle, and she would have won easily.
