Which event could determine if Team USA wins gold if the final is close?
The U.S. enters as a strong favorite to run away with the team gold medal after besting its closest competitor, Italy, by more than five points in the qualifying round.
However, if contenders like Italy, China and Brazil are neck and neck with Team USA throughout the competition, it could come down to the floor exercise for the U.S. to clinch gold.
Floor exercise is the last of the four events for Team USA after vault, uneven bars and balance beam. Two of the biggest stars in the event, Simone Biles and Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, finished 1-2 in the floor exercise during qualifying, although Biles had a big gap (14.6 compared to 13.9 points) as the top performer.
Team USA’s Jade Carey is the defending individual gold medalist in floor exercise from the Tokyo Olympics, but she will not be competing in the event today. She finished 74th in qualifying with a 10.633 after struggling mightily while feeling under the weather.
That means Biles, Jordan Chiles and Suni Lee will be the ones to bring it home in floor exercise. The event is a strength for Chiles, who finished third in qualifying, while Lee took 24th.
The hope is that the loss of Carey in the event doesn’t make it a nerve-rattling finish for Team USA. Even with her struggles in the qualifying round, Team USA still built a big enough lead to win handily.
Brazil and Italy each had three gymnasts in the Top 13 in the floor exercise during qualifying.
What is the Biles II? All about Simone Biles’ breathtaking vault
The term “signature skill” for Simone Biles is not just an expression. She actually has five gymnastics skills named after her and another one pending as she continues to push the boundaries of the sport.
None of them may be more spectacular and gravity-defying than the Biles II on the vault, which will be Biles’ first event in today’s team finals.
She nailed a Biles II during the qualifying round on Sunday on her way to a 15.8, the highest score on the vault of any gymnast.
The breathtaking maneuver involves a back handspring off the vaulting table into a double pike, which is two rotations of the body in pike position.
She became the first gymnast to ever land that combination in an international competition at the 2023 world championships on her way to winning the all-around title. The skill was dubbed the Biles II and has a maximum 6.4 difficulty rating.
No other gymnast in the world has ever completed one in international competition. The degree of difficulty is so high that even if Biles has points deducted for hopping back on her landing, it doesn’t dramatically affect her score.
She also has a Biles II on the floor exercise, which involves two flips and three twists and requires immense power to get her high off the floor.
In case you’re wondering, the Biles I is a double layout with a half-turn in the floor exercise. There’s also a Biles I on the vault, which is a roundoff with a half-twist onto the vaulting table followed by a front double full somersault off the table.
Panama’s Hillary Heron, 20, became the only other gymnast to do a Biles I in the floor exercise at the Olympics when she did it during the qualifying round on Sunday.
Who is Team USA’s biggest competition for the team gold medal?
The U.S. squad enters as a heavy favorite to win gold. This is the first time in Olympic history that two previous individual all-around Olympic gold medalists enter on the same team, between Suni Lee (2020) and Simone Biles (2016).
Italy finished second behind the U.S. during qualifying, but it was a distant second in gymnastics scoring at more than five points. The Italians have not won a team gymnastics medal in the Olympics since 1928.
Jade Carey said she hasn’t been feeling well and Biles appeared to be dealing with a lower left leg injury, and Team USA still dominated qualifying. If they are able to repeat that performance and Carey is feeling better today, the U.S. will be very hard to beat.
China and Brazil are also considered a threat. China last won team gold at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Brazil has never won a medal in the Olympic team competition, but is led by all-around star Rebeca Andrade.
The team champion from the Tokyo Olympics, the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), is not competing in Paris because of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Team USA was the heavy favorite to win in Tokyo before Biles withdrew from the team competition.
China last won team gold at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
Jade Carey has been battling sickness. How is she now?
The 24-year-old gymnast told Olympics.com that an undisclosed illness led to her falling during the floor exercise, the event that earned her a gold medal in Tokyo.
“I just have not been feeling well the past few days and haven’t been able to eat or anything,” she said.
She continued, “I had, like, no energy today and didn’t really have a sense of what was going on in my head. So, I just kind of wanted people to know that so, they know that there’s actually something wrong.”
Carey’s mom gave an update on TODAY July 28, saying, “She’s doing much better today. Trying to hydrate, get some food in, ready to go.”
Carey won’t get a chance to defend her gold in the floor exercise but she did qualify for the women’s vault final.
NBC analyst Laurie Hernandez says Simone Biles is ‘doing OK’ and ready to perform in the team finals
NBC Olympic gymnastics analyst Laurie Hernandez said on TODAY this morning that she heard Team USA’s practice yesterday was “completely normal” amid worries about Simone Biles’ calf and Jade Carey’s health.
Biles appeared to be fighting through a lower left leg injury during Sunday’s qualifying, while Carey struggled in her signature event, the floor exercise, and later said she wasn’t feeling well. Hernandez, who was part of the 2016 U.S. Olympic team that won gold in Rio de Janeiro, said there shouldn’t be concerns heading into today’s team finals.
“From what I heard practice yesterday went completely normal, which is exactly what we want to hear,” she said. “I know after watching qualifications there was some worries and speculations about Simone’s calf and what’s going on there. But from what we’re hearing, she’s doing OK. She’s going to get out there on the competition floor and do what we know Simone Biles can do best.”
Team USA enters as a heavy favorite to win the team title.
“This team is so fierce and has said multiple time and time again they’re going for gold, and I’ll think we’ll see that happen later today,” she said.
A key will be getting off to a good start in their first event, the vault. Biles posted the highest score of any gymnast (15.8) in that event in the qualifying round.
“We’re looking for confidence, we’re looking for minimal wobbles, and hopefully no landing deductions,” Hernandez said.
Jordan Chiles and Simone Biles danced along with Snoop Dogg to get into the Paris Olympic vibe
Leave it up to Snoop Dogg to break any tension as Team USA women’s gymnastics goes for the team gold.
The famously laid back rapper and beloved Olympic commentator had stars Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles busting out dance moves during the qualifying round on Sunday, bringing a whole other vibe than the tension of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Chiles and Biles caught a glimpse of Snoop dancing in the crowd and couldn’t help but groove along with him. Spectators weren’t allowed at the Tokyo Olympics, but one spectator in particular has made all the difference in Paris.
“Anybody have any more fun than Snoop? I don’t think so,” announcer Terry Gannon said during the broadcast.
What celebrities might be seen watching the women’s gymnastics team final?
The women’s gymnastics qualifying round was among the places to be at the Paris Olympics, so look for plenty of famous faces in the crowd at Bercy Arena today with a gold medal on the line.
Among the attendees in the qualifiers?
Tom Cruise, fresh off his meeting with Hoda Kotb, enthusiastic commentator Snoop Dogg, Lady Gaga of Olympics opening ceremony fame, Oscar winner Jessica Chastain and her children, rocker Nick Jonas, singer John Legend and wife Chrissy Teigen, “Wicked” co-stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, actor couple Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker, Nina Dobrev and her Olympian partner Shaun White, and more.
Which U.S. gymnasts are competing in which events?
Each qualifying country selects three gymnasts to choose to compete in each event. Here’s how Team USA is shaking out during this team final.
- Vault: Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, Simone Biles
- Bars: Jordan Chiles, Simone Biles, Suni Lee
- Beam: Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee, Simone Biles
- Floor: Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Simone Biles
Which Team USA gymnasts are competing in the final?
All the big names on Team USA will be combining together to try to bring home their first team gold in eight years.
Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Suni Lee, who all competed in the Tokyo Olympics, will be in action.
No more than three gymnasts from the same team can compete in a single event, by Olympic rule. Newcomer Hezly Rivera, 16, who is also eligible to compete in the team final, did not finish in the top three on the team in any event during qualifying.
The pressure is on all of them because no bad scores can be dropped from the overall team score, which is a rule that was instituted at the 2004 Olympics. That means if someone falls or has a disastrous routine, that score will count to the overall score, leaving the door open for another team to win by just having all of their gymnasts perform clean routines.
There are 12 total routines per team (three gymnasts each in four events) in the finals.
The road to the final: How teams qualify
Twelve teams competed on Sunday, with the eight highest-scoring teams advancing to today’s competition.
Teams competed in vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise, with the scores from each event being added up for a cumulative score. Five gymnasts from each team can compete in the four events in qualifying, with no more than three in a single event.
The three highest scores from each team in each event count toward the team score in qualifying for the team final. Using the vault as an example, the top-three scores by Simone Biles (15.8), Jade Carey (14.666) and Jordan Chiles (14.333) gave Team USA a score of 44.799 in the vault in the team qualifying.
Then the team scores of all four events are added together for a cumulative score.
Team USA finished with the highest qualifying score at 172.296, followed by Italy with 166.861. Qualifying scores do not carry over to the finals.
Here’s everything to know about the format.
Which teams qualified for the women’s team final?
The top eight women’s squads reached the team final after Sunday’s qualifying round, led by Team USA.
In addition to the United States, the other qualifiers are Italy, China, Brazil, Japan, Canada, Great Britain and Romania.
The U.S. team won the qualifying rounds by a large margin of more than five points, but team scores revert to zero for the finals, so nothing from qualifying carries over.
When are the women’s gymnastics team finals? How to watch
The action gets underway at 12:15 p.m. ET at Bercy Arena in Paris.
The order of events is what’s known as the Olympic order, which is vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and then floor exercise.
Team USA and Italy, who qualified No. 1 and No. 2, will start on vault and then progress through the three other events in that order (bars/beam/floor).
China and Brazil will start on the uneven bars, Japan and Canada will start on the balance beam, and Great Britain and Romania will start on the floor exercise.
The team final will be live on NBC and streamed live on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com, the NBC Olympics app and the NBC app.
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