United States gymnastics has taken Paris by storm with Biles and Lee leading a tremendous American effort
It may have only been eight years, but the United States women’s gymnastics team was feeling the drought as they sought a return to glory at the 2024 Paris Olympics after letting a gold medal slip through its fingers three years ago. Led by stars Simone Biles and Suni Lee, the Americans started strong and never looked back Tuesday, winning the women’s team final and capturing the fourth gold medal in program history.
The United States (171.296) largely dominated the competition winning by 5.802 over silver medalist Italy (165.494) and 6.799 over bronze medalist Brazil (164.497).
Prior team competition winners in 1996, 2012 and 2016, the United States disappointed to its standard with a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics — in part due to Biles pulling herself from competition amid a much-discussed case of the “twisties.” The 27-year-old sensation was back at her best in Paris, starring in rotation after rotation before capping her stellar all-around performance on floor exercise to clinch gold.
The Americans have now won gold or silver in six straight Olympics dating back to 2004. They have made nine straight trips to the podium since 1988. Biles has now won eight medals, the most of any American gymnast in history, including her fifth gold.
Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey both contributed significant scores, but it was Biles and Lee pacing the team across the four rotations. Biles starred with team-bests on vault (14.900) — the discipline that prompted her issues in Japan — and floor (14.666), while Lee flexed her muscles with leading efforts on balance beam (14.600) and uneven bars (14.566).
WOW. SIMONE BILES JUST DID THAT. 🔥 #ParisOlympics
📺 NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/l4pLcI1QGg
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 30, 2024
The U.S. advantage became significant after the first rotation as Biles’ success came alongside that of Carey and Chiles, who scored 14.800 and 14.400, respectively. The trio opened edges of 1.434 on China and 2.435-point edge on Italy, the countries perceived as the Americans’ biggest rivals. Lee, the reigning all-around gold medalist, fell during a practice routine on bars but recovered to lead the U.S. in the second rotation.
Biles showed no signs of difficulty with a left calf that was tweaked during Sunday’s qualifying round. While she still had the calf wrapped Tuesday, her limp was not nearly as pronounced as it had been two days earlier — and it certainly did not affect her performance.
Lee, Chiles and Biles were the closing act on floor, the final rotation for the U.S. Lee started with a drama-free 13.533 — better than either of the Italians who preceded or followed her. Chiles, considered the energetic spark plug of the group, posted a stunning posted a thrilling 13.966 that received a loud response from the crowd in Paris as it knew Biles was a lock to deliver the goods in the final spot.
