The United States team, driven by Simone Bileswon the gold medal for artistic gymnastics teams on Tuesday at the Olympic Games Paris 2024in a Bercy pavilion taken over by the fans of the North American country.
The Americans added 171,296 points. Completing the podium were Italy (165,494), which won its first medal since the silver in Amsterdam 1928, and Brazil (164,497), on the first podium in its history, and in all of South Americain this test, driven by Rebeca Andrade.
Defending champion Russia will not compete in Paris due to suspension. The United States also won in London 2012 and Rio 2016.
Simone Biles, Sunisa Lee, Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles and Hezly Rivera are the new champion line-up. Alongside Biles, undisputed and unrivalled, Jordan Chiles, who also did all four apparatus, played a crucial role in the final. Perhaps this erased the disappointment of being left out of the individual all-around final despite finishing fourth in the qualifying round: Biles and Lee finished first and third and there can only be two finalists from the same country.
The American vault rotation was formidable, with all three gymnasts over 14.400 and Biles at 14.900. Biles shelved the II until the individual competition, but made the most of her Cheng: round-off, half-twist before touching the board and somersault with a twist and a half. The second most difficult in the code.
After just one apparatus, her team was already almost a point and a half ahead of China, which started on the uneven bars, with Yihan Zhang and her 14.433 as the spearhead.
Italy, Canada and Brazil followed. Rebeca Andrade overcame her problems from the previous round on the bars with a 14.533 that fueled her hopes for Thursday’s individual all-around final.
But Biles, who also went on to perform on the uneven bars afterwards, showed that even on her worst apparatus she is a genius and with a completely clean flight she scored a 14.400.
The Italians, despite the shine of their recent European title, remained ahead of China. Alice D’Amato had the best bars, 14.633, while on the balance beam Qiu Qiyuan flew without errors and deserved a 14.600.
Halfway through the competition, the United States had a lead of 3,103 over Italy and 3,966 over China. The Brazilians were sixth at 6,267.
With the Americans and Italians on the beam and the Chinese and Brazilians on the floor, the United States maintained a 3.602-meter lead over Italy after the third rotation, but the standings turned around in the next few positions. The British and Canadians, who excelled on the vault, overtook the Chinese, who failed on the floor.
Manila Esposito, the European and absolute champion in the specialty at 17 years old, scored 13.966, which seemed like a small feat compared to Biles’ 14.366 and Sunisa Lee’s 14.600.
The floor could not take the gold from the United States or the silver from Italy. And if any apparatus could give the bronze to Brazil it was The vault, the only one in which Andrade has beaten Biles. The ‘GOAT’ closed the day with her supreme exercise on the Bercy carpetA gold medal that was well-known, but won without leaving anything to chance. Biles and company bathed in gold againdeservedly so, and the entire podium was a party. From the first to the third step.
*With information from EFE.
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