The USA handled the sudden misfortune with remarkable fortitude during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics team final, when everything appeared to be falling and Simone Biles had to withdraw mid-competition. Upon receiving their silver medal at the end, they felt even more accomplished and hungry than before.
On the way back, each member of that team overcame tremendous obstacles, including juggling elite goals with college gymnastics, suffering severe injuries, a kidney illness, being stalked by multiple people, and untangling the twisties.
Biles, Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles, and Jade Carey were the four who amazingly mustered the will and fortitude to rejoin the team. After three years, they reaffirmed their supremacy in women’s gymnastics by winning an unbeatable gold medal.
Another outstanding performance from Biles highlighted their victory on a night that might have reminded her of her past struggles. Biles lost herself in the air during her attempt at a vault in the Tokyo team final, almost hurting herself severely before she withdrew.
She executed a masterful Cheng vault this time, which set the stage for an astounding set of outcomes. Biles expressed her relief at not experiencing any flashbacks, saying, “I told her at the beginning of the day that I was feeling calm and ready, and that’s exactly what happened.”
But I felt relieved when I finished vault. I thought, “Well, at least there were no flashbacks or anything.” However, I did feel a great sense of relief, and as soon as I touched down, I knew I had to do this.
Chiles, a Texas-based trainer for Biles, joyfully leaped into the air in response to Biles’s vault, saying, “That’s what I was thinking.” Hallelujah, no flashbacks or anything, I thought. Alright, so all she has to do is carry on as usual.
All I could do was jump for relief. “Okay, we’re about to really do this and just go out there and be ourselves,” was the thought that followed since she is the greatest of all time.
Every single eye in the arena was fixed on Biles as she shone through the evening’s final routine, securing the gold medal with an incredible performance, following the USA team’s march through the four apparatus with only one fall.
The USA has won gold in three of the last four Games, reestablishing themselves as the dominant force in women’s gymnastics. With five gold medals from the Olympics and 38 medals from world championships and the Olympics, Biles is already the most decorated gymnast in history. She is the most decorated American gymnast at the Games with eight medals.
Compared to 2016, Biles claimed she was even more enjoying this team gold. She remarked, “It didn’t hit the way that it does now.” I’m a lot older now, and we’ve gained a ton of experience, so we’re really enjoying ourselves and what we’re doing out here. Simply put, it’s different.
While the United States rejoiced, Great Britain processed the mixed emotions of coming in fourth, trailing only Italy and Brazil—who finished 0.234 points ahead of Great Britain.
“We really, really stepped up from qualification and it was so nice to see everyone put on their best performances,” Georgia-Mae Fenton stated. Being so close to missing out is heartbreaking.
Three years after their unexpected bronze medal as a team, Great Britain had a challenging year as many of their best gymnasts were sidelined due to injuries, and their dismal seventh place finish in the qualifying draw further highlighted how far behind they were from the best.
Everything was different, though, when it came to the floor exercise. The gymnasts’ poor uneven bars rotation during qualifying had led to them making fun of themselves on social media the next day.
They came back with a powerful rotation led by Fenton’s outstanding performances and another incredible routine from Becky Downie, whose score of 14.933 at the time was the third-highest in the competition. Third place on the balance beam, they managed the pressure to complete three powerful routines.
However, it was insufficient. Brazil eliminated them with just a spectacular Cheng vault by Rebeca Andrade, which was two tenths higher than her qualifying attempt.
Britain had to settle for fourth place after thinking for a brief moment that they had won bronze after their balance beam rotation. “We didn’t know the exact scores and Rebeca’s vault is absolutely insane,” Fenton remarked. That was what we had to contend with.
“However, I am incredibly proud of how we rose to the occasion and demonstrated that we are still a formidable team.”
