Marta Karolyi, U.S. gymnastics team coordinator, looks at the scoreboard along with, from right, Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and Gabrielle Douglas during the artistic gymnastics women’s qualification at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 7, 2016.
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Down in Rio covering the gymnastics competition at the 2016 Olympics, NBC announcer Al Trautwig most likely didn’t even think about the implications of his Tweet saying that the adoptive mother and father of American gymnastics star Simone Biles were not her parents. The United States led the field in team qualifying by 10 points-an unheard-of margin-and Biles was the top qualifier in the individual all-around as well as three individual events: the floor, the beam, and the vault. Japan and Canada, the best teams in that final, could only cut into the lead.
Biles took the first step in bringing back five gold medals, qualifying first in the balance beam, floor exercise and vault event finals.
Led by veteran Olympian Aly Raisman, this US squad is arguably the best in history, with world champion Simone Biles, Olympic medalist Gabby Douglas, Madison Kocian and Laurie Hernandez.
Heartbreakingly, 2012 Olympic champion Gabby Douglas scored high enough to qualify for the all-around final, but finished behind Biles and Raisman, and therefore won’t move on due to a two-per-country rule. Because each country can have only two gymnasts in the all-around final, Raisman or Douglas would have been the odd-one out.
The team final is Tuesday.
The only real suspense Sunday was which one of Biles’ teammates would join her in advancing to Thursday’s all-around final. The U.S. women’s gymnastics team had that Sunday in Rio. “What I’m trying to do is get the most out of every single person”.
She believes she has repaid USA gymnastics national team coordinator Marta Karolyi’s faith in her ability.
“I do a very good job at hiding (my nerves)”, said the American with a wide grin as she flashed her nails that had been polished to match her sparkling red and navy blue leotard.
“I’d love to defend my title but I’m honored that people have gravitated to my story”, she said.
“I hate the two-per-country rule”, Raisman said.
“I don’t really view myself as the world’s best or anything like that”, Biles said in the spring.
If the Americans have a weakness, it’s on uneven bars. Her matching 14.833 edged Douglas out of contention to defend her all-around title. “I have great confidence in what I do and I’m really just competing against myself out there”. With ten gold medals, Biles also holds the record for most gold medals won by a female gymnast in the history of the World Championships. Raisman will also join Biles in the floor final. The International Federation of Gymnastics instituted the rule after the Romanians initially swept the podium.
Put it this way: If the US team, led by three-time world champion Biles, fails to defend its gold, it will be the most stunning upset in the Games.
“This is the closest team I’ve ever seen”.
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“We need to fight”, said Mustafina, the 2010 world champion.
