Team USA Gymnastics created magic at the Bercy Arena in Paris. Both the men and women’s teams created moments that earned them spots on and atop the podium, winning a combined ten medals. 

Team Event Glory 

The American women entered Paris with one thing on their minds: redemption. They accomplished just that. After coming up short in Tokyo with a silver medal, the Americans won gold over Italy by 5.802 points. The team of Simone Biles, Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera eased their way to victory. Four separate athletes earned a score of 14.3 or better on each of the four apparatuses; Carey excelled on vault bringing in a 14.8, Chiles finessed the uneven bars, earning a 14.366, Lee was flawless on beam bringing in a 14.600 and Biles clinched the gold with a powerful floor routine that scored a 14.666.

The American men broke a 16-year medal drought in the team event at the Olympics, taking home the bronze medal for the first time since 2008. After finishing fifth place in qualifications, the team responded with score improvements in the finals. The five member team composed of Fredrick Richard, Brody Malone, Paul Juda, Asher Hong and Stephen Nedoroscik all put on strong performances for the judges. Juda and Malone earned a 14.666 and 14.533, after sticking their vaults.  After falling twice in his qualification routine on the highbar, Malone redeemed himself and brought in a 14.166. Richard closed the rotation with a high of 14.833. Team USA’s pommel horse specialist Nedoroscik capped the routine with a 14.866, clinching the gold medal for his team. Nedoroscik became an overnight social media sensation, with fans comparing him to Clark Kent. 

Biles Reclaims the all-around crown 

In 2016, Simone Biles became the Olympic all-around champion. Biles withdrew from the Olympic games in 2021, developing the “twisties”.  Team USA’s Sunisa Lee won the title, marking five straight golds in the all-around for American women.

Biles became the third woman to win the Olympic all-around gold medal twice with a score of 59.131 Her closest competitor was Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, who finished with a score of 57.932. 

Holding a lead heading into the final rotation, Biles widened the gap with a score of 15.066 compared to 14.033 for Andrade. Biles gained the lead with a dominant 15.766 on vault to start the meet. The buffer that Biles had over Andrade was depleted at the uneven bars. A shaky routine from Biles only earned her a 13.733, while a near flawless routine from Andrade scored 14.666. Biles went into the third rotation with a solid routine that gave her a 14.566. This helped to give her the lead over Andrade who scored a 14.133. Biles performed her high-flying floor routine that brought her back to the top of the podium. She scored 15.066. Andrade closed her meet with a 14.033 and finished second. Biles became the third woman to win the Olympic all-around gold medal twice. She also became the sixth American woman in a row to win Olympic gold in the all-around. 

Lee racked up a bronze medal, beating out Italy’s Alice D’Amato in the final rotation. Trailing by 0.034 heading to the floor routine, in the final rotation on floor exercise, D’Amato performed first. She went out of bounds on her first tumbling pass and scored a 13.500. Lee  needed a clutch floor routine to secure bronze, and that is exactly what she displayed. Lee earned a 13.666 and edged D’Amato out for the bronze medal by a little over a tenth of a point. Lee’s highest overall score of the meet came on bars, finishing with a total of 14.866. She became the sixth American woman in a row to win Olympic gold in the all-around. Lee became the first Olympic all-around champion to return to the Olympic all-around podium since Nadia Comenci, who achieved this in 1976 and 1

Biles’ return to the games means more than the medals she achieved. Her advocacy for mental health is an inspiration to people all around the world. Her legacy on the sport outshined the medals she achieved at the Paris Olympics. 

More Medals in apparatus finals

Biles continued to build her gold medal haul in the vault final, landing two incredible vaults to secure gold with a score of 15.300. Andrade followed in silver with a final total of 14.966. Team USA’s Jade Carey nailed her two vaults to win bronze, a redemption three years in the making. After stumbling while running for her vault at the Olympics in 2021 Carey finished in eighth place. 

Biles and Chiles competed during the floor final. During her routine Biles stepped out of bounds with both feet during her second and fourth tumbling pass. These mistakes caused her to come up short to Andrade. Andrade won gold with a score of 14.166 and Biles took silver scoring 14.133. Chiles took home bronze, finishing with a routine score of 13.777. She competed well, but had two shaky landings in her tumbling. She received an initial score of 13.666, placing her in fifth. However, she submitted an inquiry to the judges about her score. After reviewing her score, the judges found that they did not give her credit for one of her leaps, raising her score by one tenth. Days after the competition the Court of Arbitration for sport found that Chiles’ coaches submitted her inquiry four seconds after the one-minute period allotted to submit inquiries. This discovery stripped Chiles of her bronze medal and bumped Ana Barbosu of Romania to the bronze medal. The USOPC has appealed this decision after finding video evidence that Chiles’ coach submitted an inquiry within the time limit. 

Nedoroscik was back in action in the pommel horse final. He nailed his routine and secured the bronze medal with a score of 15.300. Nedoroscik finished behind silver medalist Nariman Kurbanov of Kazakhstan and gold medalist Ryhs Mclenaghan of Ireland. 

Lee was the lone American in the uneven bar final. She won her second-consecutive bronze medal in this event with a score of 14.800. This medal made Lee a six time Olympic medalist, tying her with Aly Raisman as the third most decorated American gymnast. 

The balance beam and floor exercise final took place on the last day of competition. Biles and Lee both fell during their beam routines, finishing fifth and sixth respectively. 

USA Gymnastics had an extremely successful run in Paris, winning a combined ten medals. The team headlined by Biles’s return to the sport after her absence in 2021. Biles became an eleven time Olympic medalist, seven of those gold. She became the most decorated American gymnast in history. Lee became a six time Olympic medalist and Carey redeemed her vault performance from 2021. The American men made headlines by returning to the team podium for the first time in sixteen years. An extremely successful Olympics in Paris, as team USA heads into a home Olympics in 2028. 

Edited by Dylan Heinrich | dheinrich@themaneater.com 

Copy Edited by Hannah Taylor | htaylor@themaneater.com

Edited by Annie Goodykoontz | agoodykoontz@themaneater.com