Team USA stars Simone Biles, Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles, and Jade Carey carried the U.S. to gold in the team event in Paris on Tuesday. This victory came after Biles had to drop out of the event in the Tokyo Olympics, making this comeback even sweeter.
Team USA finished with an impressive score of 171.296, nearly six points ahead of the second-place team.
With this gold, Biles became the most-decorated American gymnast in history with a total of eight Olympic medals. She surpassed the legendary Shannon Miller to achieve this milestone.
Italy earned the silver medal with 165.494 points, while Brazil took home the bronze with 164.497 points.
The U.S. women’s gymnastics team has now won four gold medals in the team event, their previous win being in the 2016 Rio Games. The team has medaled in every Olympics since the 1992 Barcelona Games.
Italy found itself on the podium for the first time since 1928, and Brazil celebrated its first team event medal in women’s gymnastics, led by star Rebeca Andrade.
US women’s gymnastics win gold medal in team finals
Rotation 1: Vault
The American team started with a strong performance on the vault, scoring 44.100 which put them in the lead over China, who started on the uneven bars. Chiles, Carey, and Biles performed on vault, with Biles achieving the highest score of 14.900.
Close behind, Carey scored 14.800 and Chiles posted a 14.400.
Rotation 2: Uneven Bars
Chiles led off on the uneven bars with a strong routine, posting a 14.366. Biles followed with a score of 14.400. Lee, who won a bronze medal in this event in Tokyo, scored 14.566 after a slight mistake where her feet touched the ground, leading to a deduction.
By the end of this rotation, the U.S. team led Italy by 3.102 points heading into the balance beam.
Rotation 3: Balance Beam
Chiles had a rough start with a fall on her entry, but she recovered to post a score of 12.733.
Lee delivered a strong routine with a score of 14.600. Biles, a two-time Olympic bronze medalist on balance beam, performed excellently and posted a score of 14.366.
By the end of this rotation, Team USA led Great Britain by 4.967 points, with a total score of 129.131.
Rotation 4: Floor Exercise
Lee started the floor exercise segment for Team USA with a routine set to music by Lindsey Stirling, earning a score of 13.533.
Chiles continued with an energetic and crowd-pleasing routine, scoring 13.966.
Biles wrapped up the final rotation with a stellar performance, earning a score of 14.666.
US women’s gymnastics team final in Paris Olympics
This marks the first time in Olympic history for either men’s or women’s gymnastics that a team featured two Olympic all-around gold medalists. Simone Biles won in 2016 and Suni Lee won in the Tokyo Games three years ago.
The team achieved a silver medal in the team finals during the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games. They aimed to surpass that result and succeeded wonderfully in Paris.
Scoring in each event breaks down by execution and difficulty to give final combined scores, making every single move critical.
It’s worth noting that Hezly Rivera, who is only 16 years old, is also part of Team USA, though she did not compete in any of the apparatuses during the team event. Nevertheless, Rivera is an integral part of the team and will receive a gold medal along with her teammates.
The U.S. women have medaled in every Olympic team event since 1992, showcasing their long-standing dominance in the sport.
