Olympic gymnastics highlights: Simone Biles, USA capture gold medal in team final

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Olympic gymnastics highlights: Simone Biles, USA capture gold medal in team final

Nancy Armour and Tom Schad, USA TODAY · USA TODAY Sports

Sat, Aug 3, 2024 ·

17 min read

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Editor's note: Simone Biles has won Olympic gold in the team final , all-around final and vault final at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

PARIS – The U.S. women's gymnastics team had framed it as a redemption tour. But in the end, it was more of a clinic, a showcase – a dominant show of twisting and acrobatic force.

Led by the incomparable Simone Biles , the Americans coasted to yet another Olympic gold medal Tuesday night at Bercy Arena, finishing atop the podium for the third time in the four most recent trips to the Summer Games. They finished nearly six points ahead of the silver medal winners Italy, with Brazil grabbing bronze. It was never really close.

"It was super exciting. We had fun. We enjoyed each other's time out there, and we just did our gymnastics," Biles said.

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Less than 48 hours after overcoming calf pain in qualifying , Biles competed – and excelled – in all four events , starting the night with a soaring Cheng vault and ending it with her signature floor routine, set in part to the music of Taylor Swift.

"I think it speaks volumes of her strength," said Chellsie Memmel, technical director for the U.S. women. "What she was able to come back from with the whole world watching — and a world watching with a magnifying glass again, just waiting to see what she was going to do.

"We all knew she could do it like. That wasn't ever a question in my mind that she could do it, and it continues to just solidify her place as the greatest gymnast of all the time."

Biles' teammates also more than did their parts. Suni Lee , the reigning Olympic all-around champ, was masterful on balance beam and strong on uneven bars. Jordan Chiles, like Biles, competed in all four events and finished with just one notable mistake, on balance beam. And Jade Carey, who has been nursing an illness , hit a terrific vault in her only event of the night. (Hezly Rivera, who competed in qualifying, did not participate in the three-up, three-count format.)

"Having this opportunity definitely felt really good," Chiles said. "And being able to be a part of winning this gold medal and everything that I've just gone through, it's just been an amazing experience. So, I'm really just proud of each and every one of us that are up here. This smile is always gonna be smiling because it's just been an amazing experience."

After the Fierce Five and the Final Five, this group – led by Biles – had talked about wanting to redeem itself after taking home silver at the 2021 Tokyo Games. "The four of them called it their redemption tour — that they certainly did," Memmel said.

It was at those same Olympics, and in this team final, where Biles withdrew from competition abruptly with what she later revealed was a case of the "twisties," which left her feeling disoriented and unsafe while twisting through the air. Perhaps it was fitting then that, in her first event of the final, she was back on vault – and back twisting with confidence in her Cheng vault, which is one of the most difficult in the world.

"As soon as I landed vault, I was like, 'Oh yeah we're gonna do this,'" Biles said.

It was clear, from the start, that tonight would be different. All four gymnasts who competed for Team USA were also on the team in Tokyo, where restrictive COVID-19 measures had left the arena mostly and eerily empty. So after the U.S. won gold on Tuesday night, one of Biles' coaches, Cecile Landi, was asked what it too to get here over the last three years — for Biles and the team.

"A lot. That's all I have to say. A lot. It's been a roller coaster over the past three years, with a lot of good times and very difficult times," Landi said. "So today's just amazing."

On Tuesday, Biles' parents and husband, Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens , were able to watch and cheer for the Americans from the bleachers. The crowd also featured big-name celebrities and sports figures, including Michael Phelps, Serena Williams, Natalie Portman and Nicole Kidman. Chants of "U-S-A" rang out sporadically after almost every rotation, and American flags waved throughout the stands.

They had plenty to cheer for, of course, thanks to Biles and company. With Tuesday's gold, the 27-year-old passed Shannon Miller for the most Olympic medals won by an American gymnast . She now has eight – and perhaps a few more on the way over the next week, with the all-around and apparatus finals still to come.

"We know if they do their normal gymnastics, it should be good enough and that's what we really focused on," Landi said.

Simone Biles, US gymnastics teammates leaned on each other to win this Olympic gold medal

Simone Biles and this U.S. women's gymnastics team have talked about powering through obstacles they faced, in part, by relying on each another .

Even while they were competing against one another in individual competitions over the course of the year, there were always signs of the genuine relationships that had grown between the returning members of this team. At the national championships earlier this summer, Biles noticed that Lee was struggling and walked across the gym during the competition to talk with her about it . In between rotations, it was normal to see Biles and Carey chatting, with Biles bursting out into laughter.

"Even (Monday) night, we were all having a little powwow − (Chiles, Lee and I) in the room, just talking about our age, what we're going through, how hard the Olympics is and all that stuff," Biles said. "... I think it translates out of the gym, as well. And once we're good and close and tight knit outside, then you see what you saw tonight. It was pretty good. It was fun. And we supported each other." Read Tom Schad's full story on the bond the U.S. women's gymnastics team has.

Simone Biles has more Olympic medals than any other American gymnast

Simone Biles and the U.S. women's gymnastics team winning gold in the team final gives Biles more Olympic medals than any other American gymnast. She has eight Olympics medals in three Games, breaking the tie she had with Shannon Miller . It also gives her 38 combined Olympic and world championships medals, which is more than all other teams combined.

"Honestly, I would've had to Google that, I'm not really sure, I don't keep count, I don't keep stats," Biles said Tuesday night. "I just go out here and do what I love. It's amazing now that I hear it, but I don't think I'll truly understand the depth of it until I walk away from the sport."

Jordan Chiles showed out in a big way to help US win gold

The Olympic gold medal around Jordan Chiles ' neck more than makes up for the disappointment of missing out on the women's gymnastics all-around final. She will forever be an Olympic champion , and she knows that the U.S. women wouldn't have won this title without her contributions. She competed on all four events Tuesday night, leading the Americans off on three of them.

"Having this opportunity definitely felt really good," Chiles said . "Being able to be a part of winning this gold medal … it's just been an amazing experience."

Simone Biles' floor routine

Simone Biles closed out the entire Olympic women's gymnatics team final on floor and got a standing ovation from the crowd. She scored a 14.666.

Simone Biles' beam score

Biles appeared to almost lose her balance on a wolf turn, then did lose her balance on an aerial, clinging to the edge of the beam with her toes. But she didn't let the wobble turn into a fall, and ultimately, her score of 14.366 was still be one of the higher marks of the night.

Simone Biles' uneven bars score

Simone Biles isn't a big fan of the uneven bars, nor is she quite as dominant on that apparatus as the other three. But she was smooth and steady in her routine, nearly sticking the landing en route to a score of 14.400. And she was grinning wide as soon as her feet hit the ground.

The U.S. gymnasts look almost relaxed as they reach the midway point, while some of their would-be rivals have already suffered mistakes. Both Brazil and China had falls on the balance beam in this rotation, which could only widen the gap between Team USA and the rest of the field.

Simone Biles' vault score

Simone Biles didn't do her signature Yurchenko double pike , opting for the second-hardest difficult vault being done these days. Biles scored a 14.9 for her Cheng, which included a small hop on the landing. She smiled and exchanged high fives with coach Laurent Landi and then Cecile Landi, who is both Biles' co-coach and coach of the U.S. women here in Paris.

That Biles opted for the "easier" vault isn't a surprise. First, the U.S. didn't need it. Though the Yurchenko double pike is worth 0.8 points more than the Cheng, they still posted 44.1 points on the rotation. Second, Biles tweaked her left calf in qualifying. There's no reason to push it.

Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles beam scores

The Americans gave themselves enough of a cushion on vault and uneven bars that they could have afforded to make a mistake or two — and still win gold. That meant Jordan Chiles' fall when mounting the beam wasn't reason to panic. Chiles recovered from the mistake and was relatively clean for the rest of her routine for a score of 12.733, and Suni Lee then followed with an outstanding performance and a 14.600.

Suni Lee' bars routine

Suni Lee, who specializes on uneven bars, got a deduction for her feet touching the floor. She still scored a 14.566.

Jordan Chiles' bars routine

Jordan Chiles killed it on bars, scoring a 14.366, and she let out a huge scream after. We're verging into the territory when the competition becomes a coronation.

How many rotations in gymnastics final?

There are four. Here was the complete run-of-show for the U.S. women.

Vault: Jordan Chiles (14.400), Jade Carey (14.800) and Simone Biles (14.900)
Uneven bars: Jordan Chiles (14.366), Simone Biles (14.400) and Suni Lee (14.566)
Balance beam: Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee and Simone Biles
Floor exercise: Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles and Simone Biles

Simone Biles' calf was wrapped, but she was walking normally

Simone Biles was walking normally but had a wrap that covered almost her entire left calf. Remember, she tweaked the left calf on floor exercise warmups during qualifying, and briefly left the floor before returning and getting her ankle heavily taped. She remained in the competition and showed no ill effects, posting the highest individual score. Coach Cecile Landi said afterward it was a flareup of an injury that occurred several weeks earlier, but that it wasn't a cause for concern.

Who is Simone Biles married to?

She is married to NFL player Jonathan Owens , who is in the arena, sitting with Biles' parents and wearing a T-shirt with "BILES" on it and a huge photo of his wife in action on it. He landed in Paris on Tuesday morning. In addition to the team final, Owens will be able to watch Biles in the all-around final on Thursday, Aug. 1.

During the first rotation, Owens was seen with a pen in hand, possibly recording scores, as Biles performed her vault routine. Mic'ed up on NBC's broadcast, Owens let out a healthy "let's go!" after Biles recorded a 14.900 on the vault, the highest score among the three U.S. gymnasts.

What are the twisties?

Biles missed most of the Tokyo Olympics after developing a case of " the twisties ," which caused her to lose her sense of where she was in the air and jeopardized her physical safety.

How does Olympic gymnastics scoring work?

A gymnastics routine gets two scores: One for difficulty, also known as the D score or start value, and one for execution. Every gymnastics skill has a numerical value, and the D score is the sum total of the skills in a routine. The execution score, or E score, reflects how well the skills were done. A gymnast starts with a 10.0, and deductions for flaws and form errors are taken from there. Add the D and E scores together, and that's your total for an apparatus. (Vault scores will always be higher because it's a single skill.)

Simone Biles, U.S. women got huge welcome from crowd

The teams are being introduced to the crowd, Simone Biles and the U.S. women receiving the biggest of all from the crowd. Biles forgot they were supposed to pose and started walking onto the floor before catching herself. Her and Jade Cade were cracking up.

Simone Biles' moves named after her: What to know

Simone Biles has left her mark on the sport of gymnastics. In addition to her record number of medals — she has 37 at the world championships and Olympics, more than any other gymnast, male or female — Biles has five skills named after her. Skills are named after the first gymnast to do them in a major international competition, like the world championships or Olympics. She has two on vault, two on floor exercise and one on balance beam. Here's are the Simone Biles moves named after her . — Nancy Armour

Simone Biles' Yurchenko double pike: What to know

The Biles II is also known as the Yurchenko double pike , one of five moves named after Simone Biles . Vaults are categorized by "families," which are based on the entry. On Yurchenko vaults, a gymnast does a roundoff onto the takeoff board and a back handspring onto the table. Biles then follows it with a double somersault in the piked position.

Few men even try this vault, which is so difficult because of the power it takes to get two somersaults as well as its lack of a bailout. If something goes awry, more likely to land on her head or neck than her knees.

Biles began doing this vault in 2021 but didn't do it at a worlds or Olympics until the 2023 world championships. With a 6.4 difficulty value, it is the hardest vault in the women's code.

When Biles did the vault last year, she took a half-point deduction for having coach Laurent Landi standing on the landing mat, ready to step in and redirect her into a safe position if it looked as if she was headed for a scary landing. But neither Biles nor Landi feel the need for him to do that anymore.

The most difficult vault commonly executed by other gymnasts is valued at 5.6, eight-tenths lower than the Biles II, so doing it gives Biles a huge scoring advantage.

Is Simone Biles the greatest gymnast of all time?

Biles is the greatest gymnast of all time . She has consistently dominated the sport for over a decade, which would have been an unimaginable feat just a few years ago as most gymnasts reach their peak in their late teens. Her ability to win is in a class of its own. With 37 Olympic and world championship medals — 27 of which are gold — Biles has won the most of any gymnast in history. She has also not lost an all-around competition since 2013.

Biles redefines the possibilities of her sport not just in her record-breaking number of wins and medals, but also in the unmatched difficulty of the skills she completes. Biles has no less than five skills named after her — two on the vault and floor and one on the balance beam — because she was the first, and in most cases, the only athlete to complete them in competition.

How many Olympic medals does Simone Biles have?

Biles has won eight Olympic medals , five of which are gold. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Biles won three individual golds in the all-around, vault and floor exercise and led Team USA's "Final Five" to the team gold. She also added a bronze medal on the balance beam. At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Biles added a silver medal in the team event and an additional bronze medal in the balance beam to her hardware collection.

How many Olympics has Simone Biles been to?

The 2024 Paris Olympics are Simone Biles ' third Olympic Games.

Where Simone Biles trains and what it's like to train with her

Simone Biles trains at Champions Centre World, which is owned by Biles' parents Nellie and Ron and is just outside Houston, has become one of the premier gyms in the country. WCC has two gymnasts on the five-woman US team at the 2024 Paris Olympics , Biles and Jordan Chiles, with Joscelyn Roberson a traveling alternate and Tiana Sumanasekera a non-traveling alternate. It also sent the most gymnasts, five, to the Olympic trials, and had three more at the US championships .

"Training with Simone is, like, once in a lifetime," said Roberson, who moved to WCC after the US championships in 2022 . "She's always so bubbly in the gym. Plus, she can hit. All the time. Like, she never has a bad day, which is insane to me."

How Simone Biles, US Olympic women's gymnastics shattered age stereotype

Simone Biles, 27, is seeking to become the oldest all-around Olympic champion in women's gymnastics in 72 years, and she is one of four athletes on the U.S. team who fit what used to be a rare mold, as repeat Olympians in their 20s. The other three − Jade Carey (24), Jordan Chiles (23) and Suni Lee (21) − all competed in college between their two Olympic appearances, which also used to be uncommon. ( Hezly Rivera , 16, rounds out the team.)

With an average age north of 22 years old, it will be the oldest U.S. women's gymnastics team to compete at the Olympics since 1952, according to USA Gymnastics.

"The longevity of this sport has been totally changed. Simone has changed that," Chiles said . not to control everything that I can't control anymore," Biles said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Olympic gymnastics highlights: Simone Biles, US win gold in team final

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