PARIS, July 28 (Xinhua) — Simone Biles flipped and twisted before a packed Bercy Arena as the U.S. women’s team led by a large margin of 5.435 points over Italy to top the Olympic gymnastics qualifying on Sunday.
Biles and her teammates Sunisa Lee, Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles and Hezly Rivera amassed 172.296 points across vault, balance beam, uneven bars and floor exercise, edging a step closer to a fourth Olympic title after getting a team silver in Tokyo. The U.S. had taken gold in 1996, 2012 and 2016.
China, who finished seventh in Tokyo, lay third with 166.628, ahead of Brazil. Japan, Canada, Britain and Romania also advanced to the team final.
Biles scored a total of 59.566 to lead the individual all-around qualifying, despite a possible calf injury she picked up weeks ago. Behind were Tokyo all-around silver medalist Rebeca Andrade of Brazil and Sunisa Lee, the reigning Olympic champion.
Seven-time Olympic medalist Biles also topped individual vault and floor qualifications while placing second on the balance beam.
“It was good,” said team coach Cecile Landi. “It wasn’t perfect, but they had a good day. It was exciting to see the crowd and the audience being so excited and cheerful for everyone. That really helped.”
Gymnasts will start afresh in finals regardless of the scores in qualifying.
With an error-strewn performance on the balance beam and uneven bars, 2023 world bronze medal winners France didn’t make it to the top eight teams going into next Tuesday’s finals.
Biles’ first routine on the balance beam went smoothly, with her usual confidence and composure. But her jitters showed as she took a little longer before stepping on the mat and talked often with her coach.
Three years ago, Biles pulled out of the Tokyo team final after suffering a mental block performing mid-air skills. She lost her sense of direction during a vault attempt – a phenomenon known as the ‘twisties’ – before deciding to withdraw from the competition to protect her mental health.
With such a history and all the media attention, Biles was under tremendous pressure.
“[The team] rely on each other, they support each other to not feel that pressure,” Landi said. “I think she feels good. She continues to talk to her therapist, and we are, of course, listening to her when she needs it.”
Biles put together an excellent floor routine to help her team through after Jade Carey, the reigning Olympic floor champion, crashed out of the mat in her final tumbling pass. Biles’ display drew gasps from the audience, and saw her awarded a massive 14.600 points.
Kaylia Nemour of Algeria finished fifth in the all-around qualifying. The world silver medalist on uneven bars scored 15.600 on this apparatus, and will become the first African to earn an Olympic medal in the sport should she reach the podium in the final.
