We Are So Honored: Simone Biles Led US Gymnastics Team Gets Iconic Send-Off by World Championship Centre for Paris Olympics..full details below
Gymnastics superstar Simone Biles will anchor three of the four apparatus Sunday (28 July) when Team USA gets its Olympic Games Paris 2024 competition underway during the women’s qualifying round, USA Gymnastics announced Saturday (27 July).
The Americans are set to begin on the balance beam, and Tokyo 2020 team silver medallist Jordan Chiles will set the tone, followed by newcomer Hezly Rivera, reigning Olympic all-around champion Suni Lee, and finally, Biles.
On the floor exercise and vault the order will be Lee, Chiles, Tokyo floor champ Jade Carey and Biles, with all but Lee expected to perform two vaults for a shot at advancing to the medal round there.
Team USA will wrap up their prelims meet on the uneven bars where Lee will be the anchor. She’ll be set up by Rivera, Chiles and Biles.
While qualifying is the only phase of competition in Paris with no medals on the line, it is in many ways one of the most important and consequential days of Olympic competition: a bad day Sunday, and there’s no chance at a medal.
The top eight teams from qualifying will advance to the team final, while 24 women will go through to the individual all-around final. The apparatus finals feature the top eight finishers. All of the individual finals have a two-per-country limit.
Biles and Team USA have looked solid in both auxiliary and podium trainings in France as they look to reclaim the team gold they held at London 2012 and Rio 2016.
“This is definitely our redemption tour,” said Biles at the recent U.S. Olympic trials. “I feel like we all have more to give… I feel like we have a lot of weight on our shoulders to go out there and prove that we’re better athletes, we’re more mature, we’re smarter, we’re more consistent.”
The U.S. is in the second of five qualification subdivisions. Competition is scheduled to begin at 11:40 am Paris time.
