Simone Biles and Sunisa Lee led Team USA to its first Olympic gold in artistic gymnastics since 2016 as the Americans easily beat their rivals at the Paris 2024 Games on Tuesday.
The U.S. team finished with an impressive winning score of 171.296. Italy came in second and Brazil in third.
The Americans celebrated by grabbing an American flag and jumping up and down posing for fans after winning gold in the team final. They ran onto the floor and couldn’t contain their excitement as they moved to various spots on the podium to give fans a chance to see them.
‘This Is What You Came For’ by Calvin Harris and Rihanna played over the loudspeaker.
Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, Sunisa Lee and Hezly Rivera celebrate after the victory
Team USA’s Simone Biles and Sunisa Lee look on during Tuesday’s action in Paris
Simone Biles’ husband Jonathan Owens was spotted celebrating in Paris on Tuesday
No Twisties this time: Simone Biles is seen doing somersaults in the air on Tuesday in Paris
With Biles at her peak, the Americans’ total of 171.296 was well ahead of Italy and Brazil and was the exclamation point of a yearlong run in which Biles has cemented her legacy as the greatest of all time in her sport and one of the best in Olympic history.
The outcome — the Americans on top with the rest of the world looking up — was not in doubt from the moment Jordan Chiles began the night with her double-twisting Yurchenko vault.
By the time Biles, the left calf that had been bothering her during qualifying heavily taped, stepped onto the floor for the final event (a floor exercise set to music by Taylor Swift and Beyoncé), her fifth Olympic gold medal was already in her possession.
Still, it was the 27-year-old who ushered in history, sealing the Americans’ third gold in their last four trips to the Games.
The Americans remain unmatched (if not flawless — this is gymnastics, after all) when they’re at their best.
Former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce is seen watching the event with his wife Kylie.
Spike Lee during the women’s team finals of artistic gymnastics on day four
Swimming legend Michael Phelps cheers on Team USA during the Paris Games
Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Cojo) Tony Estanguet (second row C) and former American tennis player Serena Williams (second row CR) await the start of the women’s team final of artistic gymnastics
Natalie Portman during the women’s team finals for artistic gymnastics
Simone Biles of the U.S. competes during the women’s artistic gymnastics team final
Team USA’s Sunisa Lee reacts with teammate Simone Biles after their routine
And for more than two hours in front of a crowd that included everyone from tennis great Serena Williams and actress Natalie Portman to Biles’ husband, Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens, Biles left little doubt about anything.
Her status as the greatest athlete of all time. Her ability to overcome the obstacles that derailed her in Tokyo. Her place in the pantheon of the American Olympic movement.
Three years after pulling out of the same competition to protect herself (a decision that changed the conversation about mental health in sports), Biles has increased her medal total at major competitions to a staggering 38 and counting.
It seems she’s back. She leaned into the roaring crowd with every flip, every leap and, yes, every spin. With her husband — on a break from NFL training camp — waving an American flag as she sat next to her parents, Biles did what she’s done so well for so long, save for a couple of rough days in Japan during a pandemic: Dominoes.
The 27-year-old didn’t do it alone, though. Lee and Chiles were on the team that won silver in Tokyo, with Biles watching from the sidelines. They overcame a series of setbacks, both physical and personal, to get back to this moment and claim the gold they so desperately wanted.
And there they were, on the biggest stage, Chiles doing all four rotations alongside her good friend Biles as she played the role of the cheerleader for the United States. Lee mixed grace with determination as she dazzled on the balance beam and uneven bars, her two best events.
Carey won the floor exercise in Tokyo, but she did so with something of an asterisk. She earned her spot through a nomination process that the sport’s governing body has since abandoned. She was with Team USA in Tokyo but was not actually part of the official four-woman team.
She vowed to write a different ending this time, and Cheng’s vault in the first rotation earned a score of 14.800, second only to Biles, to give the U.S. a commanding lead before Biles even greeted the judges.
The only real drama centered on who would finish alongside the Americans on the medal podium.