Despite some nerve-wracking moments in Sunday's qualifying round, the US women's gymnastics team has emerged as the overwhelming favourites for the team gold medal.
Simone Biles topped the all-around standings after the second of five subdivisions, closely followed by Suni Lee, and also secured her spot in the floor, vault, and beam apparatus finals. This will mark the first time in Olympic history that two all-around champions will face off in the all-around final, with Biles and Lee vying for gold on Thursday.
Biles' participation in the Games was briefly thrown into doubt after she appeared to sustain a calf injury during floor warm-ups. While admitting to feeling pain in her calf, coach Cecile Landi reassured fans that Biles had no intention of withdrawing. The injury, which had also caused Biles discomfort in training weeks prior, had seemed to improve before flaring up again on Sunday. Biles had her ankle taped by medical staff and is determined to compete in all planned events.
The US women faced the challenge of starting on the balance beam, an event where adrenaline can make it difficult to stay on the precarious 4-inch apparatus. They overcame initial nerves and executed their routines effectively, with Biles delivering one of her most impressive performances on beam, earning a remarkable 14.733 score and securing a place in the beam finals alongside Lee.
The team's biggest hurdle came during their second rotation when reigning Olympic floor champion Jade Carey stumbled on her final tumbling pass. She appeared to lose her balance mid-air on her double tuck, landing out of bounds and scoring a disappointing 10.633. This score likely eliminates her from defending her title.
Following the competition, Carey revealed on X that she hasn't been feeling her best in Paris. Her coach and father, Brian, was absent from Thursday's podium training after USA Gymnastics reported that he was unwell. He returned for the qualifying round.
Carey redeemed herself on the next event, vault, scoring an average of 14.433 on her Cheng and double-twisting Yurchenko vaults. This performance earned her a spot in the vault final, where she hopes to upgrade her routine with an Amanar (2.5 twists). Biles, who flawlessly executed her signature Yurchenko double pike, or "Biles II" vault, will join Carey in the pursuit of an Olympic vault medal.
"I think they rallied together," said Chellsie Memmel, the team's technical lead coach, highlighting the team's resilience. "I think that says the strength of their team bond, just that they came together, they turned the page after floor and rallied around each other."
Lee cemented her place in the all-around final on the uneven bars, where she is the reigning Olympic bronze medalist. She needed a score of 14.800 to overtake Jordan Chiles, a challenging task, but Lee achieved it with a narrow margin. She opted for a slightly less difficult routine, removing a complex connection, and earned a score of 14.866, securing her spot in the bars final as well.
Like Gabby Douglas and Jordyn Wieber before her, Chiles found herself in the bittersweet position of being the third-best gymnast on the world's most dominant women's gymnastics team. Despite finishing third in the all-around standings, Chiles will not advance to the all-around finals due to the two-gymnast-per-country rule.
However, Chiles did not go down without a fight. She delivered strong performances across all four events in her return to the Olympics, a significant improvement from her discouraging qualifying performance in Tokyo. Chiles is poised to join Biles, her training partner, in the floor final, having won a silver medal in the event at the 2022 world championships.
Hezly Rivera, the youngest member of both the US gymnastics team and the entire Team USA delegation at the age of 16, overcame some initial nerves in her Olympic debut on the balance beam. While her score on beam was below her potential, Rivera secured a respectable 13.900 on the bars in the final rotation.
The US women's gymnastics team will now look to claim gold in the team final on Tuesday.