The women's artistic gymnastics kicked off yesterday at the Bercy Arena in Paris. There was triumph and heartbreak as we witnessed five competitive and electrifying rounds to qualify for all finals.
Team USA proved their dominance, with world-famous Simone Biles showing all that she is back. They finished first, scoring 172.296, over five points ahead of second-place Italy.
France suffered heartbreak, finishing 11th and missing out on the team finals at their Olympics. Expectations were high after the French team placed third in the world championships last year, but after a shaky start on the uneven bars, the team never seemed to recover.
Melanie de Jesus dos Santos, the 2019 all-around champion, had her hopes on a meal in front of her home crowd but failed to qualify for any final. She said, "I feel really sad. I feel like everything I did the last two or three years did not work out today. I feel like I’ve worked for nothing the past few years.".
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Who impressed?
Simone Biles (USA)
Biles proved to the world that she is back and better than ever after her early exit in Tokyo 2020. Her routines were neat and executed excellently despite the difficulty in all areas.
She is in five of six finals and topped four of them. Her vault was particularly impressive, with the gymnast competing in the Yurchenko double pike, which is known as one of the hardest vaults in the world.
The American, who has 37 world and Olympic medals, didn't stop there; she competed in two of the five moves named after herself but chose not to complete her new element on the uneven bars.
The competition wasn't all smooth sailing; she exited the arena after the first rotation, and we later found out this was due to a calf injury he had been nursing that had flared up.
Kaylia Nemour (Algeria)
The African all-around champion showed why she is the one to beat on the uneven bars, scoring a massive 15.600.
Nemour was the first African ever to win a World Championship medal; she won the silver on the bars. She has also qualified for the women's all-around final on Thursday and has big hopes there.
The 17-year-old has a special connection with France, as she was born, grew up, and trained there, but she decided to represent her father's country, Algeria.
Rebeca Andrade (Brazil)
Andrade is a renowned gymnast herself; she has nine world championship medals and placed second to Suni Lee in the last Olympics.
Qualifying for the same five of six finals as Biles, she will want a gold, especially on the vault, as she won this appuratus last Olympics. Andrade was the first female Brazilian to medal in the sport.
She was second to Simone in the all-around standings, and although she was almost two points behind, she will want the gold but will have to put out a picture perfect performance in the finals.
Suni Lee (USA)
A brilliant performance was shown by the American gymnast, who just last year was diagnosed with two rare kidney conditions.
Lee last year decided to retire from college gymnastics to focus on her health, and it was only in January when she got the green light from the doctors to even have a chance in Paris.
Her resiliance shone through in qualifying, with the gymnast taking part in four finals and qualifying third all around.
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Biggest shocks
Jade Carey's floor routine was the shock of the day after the Olympic gold medalist scored just 10.633 placing 74th in the event.
Carey was meant to do a punchfront roundoff double back but managed just one tuckback with a fall. She said, “I just have not been feeling well the past few days and haven’t been able to eat or anything I had, like, no energy today.”
The Australian and French teams also faced misery, with both not being able to qualify for the team finals. Although 17-year-old Ruby Pass of Australia managed to qualify for the individual all-around.
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Women's Team Finals
Tuesday, July 30th, 17:15
- USA – 172.296
- Italy – 166.861
- China – 166.628
- Brazil – 166.628
- Japan – 162.196
- Canada – 161.563
- Great Britain – 160.830
- Romania – 159.497
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Women's All Around Finals
Thursday, August 1st, 17:15
- Simone Biles USA – 59.566
- Rebeca Andrade BRA – 57.700
- Suni Lee USA – 56.132
- Jordan Chiles USA – 56.065 – not eligible for all-around final
- Kaylia Nemour ALG – 55.966
- Manila Esposito ITA – 55.898
- Alice D’Amato ITA – 55.432
- Qiu Qiyuan CHN – 54.998
- Ellie Black CAN – 54.766
- Kishi Rina JPN – 54.699
- Flavia Saraiva BRA – 54.199
- Ou Yushan CHN – 53.965
- Elisa Iorio ITA – 53.898 – not eligible for all-around final
- Ruby Pass AUS – 53.866
- Helen Kevric GER – 53.865
- Ana Barbosu ROM – 53.533
- Nakamura Haruka JPN – 53.532
- Filipa Martins POR – 53.166
- Okamura Mana JPN – 53.132
- Jade Barbosa BRA – 53.066 – not eligible for all-around final
- Naomi Visser NED – 53.032
- Bettina Czifra HUN – 52.732
- Amalia Ghigoarta ROM – 52.665
- Georgia Mae Fenton GBR – 52.632
- Sarah Voss GER – 52.565
- Ava Stewart CAN – 52.332
- Ushioku Kohane JPN – 52.131- not eligible for all-around finals
- Alice Kinsella GBR – 51.999
- Aurelie Tran CAN – 51.798 – not eligible for all-around finals
- Luisa Blanco COL – 51.698
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Women's Vault Final
Saturday, August 3rd, 15:20
- Simone Biles USA – 15.300
- Rebeca Andrade BRA – 14.683
- Jade Carey USA – 14.433
- Jordan Chiles USA – 14.216 – not eligible for qualification
- Yeo Seojeong KOR – 14.183
- AN Chang Ok PRK – 14.183
- Shallon Olsen CAN – 14.166
- Ellie Black CAN – 14.000
- Valentina Georgieva BUL – 13.999
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Women's Uneven Bars Final
Sunday, August 4th, 14:40
- Kaylia Nemour ALG – 15.600
- Qiu Qiyuan CHN – 15.066
- Suni Lee USA – 14.866
- Nina Derwael BEL – 14.733
- Zhang Yihan CHN – 14.700
- Alice D’Amato ITA – 14.666
- Becky Downie GBR – 14.666
- Helen Kevric GER – 14.600
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Women's Balance Beam Final
Monday, August 5th, 11:38
- Zhou Yaqin CHN – 14.866
- Simone Biles USA – 14.733
- Rebeca Andrade BRA – 14.500
- Suni Lee USA – 14.033
- Sabrina Voinea ROM – 14.000
- Manila Esposito ITA – 13.966
- Alice D’Amato ITA – 13.866
- Julia Soares BRA – 13.800
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Women's Floor Final
Monday, August 5th, 13:38
- Simone Biles USA – 14.600
- Rebeca Andrade BRA – 13.900
- Jordan Chiles USA – 13.866
- Sabrina Voinea ROM – 13.800
- Alice D’Amato ITA – 13.700
- Ou Yushan CHN – 13.666
- Manila Esposito ITA – 13.633
- Kishi Rina JPN – 13.600
- Ana Barbosu ROM – 13.600
