After shock Simone Biles withdrawal, here's how the US women did in the gymnastics team final
The women's gymnastic finals at the Tokyo Olympics will be watched by millions of Americans Tuesday night, but for those of you who can't wait for the replay, here's what happened when it took place around 6 a.m. Central Time.
If you don't want a spoiler, stop reading now.
The U.S. women's gymnastics team entered the finals in Tokyo with gold on their mind, but they were dealt a massive blow after the vault when the greatest gymnast of all time, Simone Biles, pulled out of the entire competition due to an apparent injury.
"This is unbelievably shocking news. Simone Biles has now pulled out of the entire team finals. We don't know why, we're not going to speculate, but that is crushing news," the NBC announcer said.
Biles struggled to land her vault attempt, but it's not thought that a physical injury knocked her out of the competition. Her coach told NBC that Biles pulled out due to a mental health issue, with USA Gymnastics describing it as a "medical issue."
“Simone has withdrawn from the team final competition due to a medical issue. She will be assessed daily to determine medical clearance for future competitions," USA Gymnastics said.
After Monday's preliminaries – Biles finished second – she posted to Instagram saying she felt the weight of the world on her shoulders.
The loss of Biles put the weight of the competition on the rest of the team, including St. Paul's Suni Lee and Isanti's Grace McCallum, who put together an impressive routine on the uneven bars.
The R.O.C., the Olympic Athletes from Russia, held a big lead on the U.S. after the vault and uneven bars, but the Americans inched closer on the balance beam, led by Lee's score of 14.133 and Jordan Chile's 13.433.
The U.S. trailed R.O.C. 128.030 to 127.230 entering the finale, the floor exercise. Just eight-tenths of a point separated the gymnastics powers with gold on the line, but the Russian athletes dominated on the floor and won the Olympic gold going away.
Team USA finish finished second for the silver, ending with 166.096 points, more than three points behind Russia (169.528). Great Britain took the bronze.