Simone Biles and Team USA Gymnastics' aura of invincibility was shattered on Sunday after a shaky qualifying session in the women's gymnastics event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The United States women's gymnastics team finished second to the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) team in qualifying, setting the stage for a titanic showdown in Tuesday's final.
ROC exceeded expectations in qualifying, posting a stunning top score of 171.629, more than a full point ahead of Team USA, which scored a total of 170.562. It is the first time since the 2010 World Championships that the Americans find themselves looking up at another nation on the scoreboard in the team standings. They scored highest in qualifying in their consecutive team gold medal performances in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and the London Olympics in 2012.
Biles, Team USA underperform in their routines
U.S. high-performance director Tom Forster shrugged off the Americans' poor showing in qualifying, saying, "This was not the finals." That being said, even though scores here will not be carried over to the final, the Russians surely are now brimming with confidence that they can record a monumental upset against the powerhouse Americans.
Contributing to the Americans' lower-than-expected score were the underperformances of all of their members. Even Simone Biles was not immune to the pressure, making some uncharacteristic mistakes on Sunday. Biles stepped off the mat following a tumbling pass on the floor exercise and made the same error on vault.
Biles responded with a solid performance on the uneven bars, but her beam routine was spoiled with her taking three major steps backward after her dismount. That is a mistake Forster said he's never seen Biles do before. Teammate Sunisa Lee also had her low scores on the floor and vault in the team competition.
Jordan Chiles produced a shocker in qualifying, making a major mistake on the bars and suffering a costly fall on the beam after she stumbled with the dismount. Chiles finished with a disappointing score of 53.698, in 40th place overall.
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Biles top qualifying for all-around competition, targeting six golds
However, it was not all doom and gloom for the Americans as Biles and Lee easily qualified for the all-around competition even with their sub-par showings. Biles showed why she is the best gymnast in the world right now, posting the highest score of qualifying with a 57.731. Lee finished third with a score of 57.166, trailing Brazil's Rebeca Andrade, who ended up in second place.
The Russians showed their mettle, however, by finishing in the next three places. Angelina Melnikova finished in fourth with a score of 57.132. She was followed by Vladislava Urazova and Viktoria Listunova, who posted scores of 57.099 and 56.93, respectively.
Biles can win six gold medals in this year's Olympics after qualifying for four individual events: floor, vault, beam, and bars. Lee's fantastic bar routine saw her qualify for that event as well, in addition to the beam event that she will also be competing in later on.
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