How the U.S. Team Won the Olympic Women’s Gymnastics Gold (2024)

By Maggie Astor,Weiyi Cai,K.K. Rebecca Lai,Scott Reinhard,Bedel Saget,Joe Ward,Josh Williams and Jeremy White

1 How the U.S. Team Won the Olympic Women’s Gymnastics Gold (1)United States 171.296
2 How the U.S. Team Won the Olympic Women’s Gymnastics Gold (2)Italy -5.802 points behind
3 How the U.S. Team Won the Olympic Women’s Gymnastics Gold (3)Brazil -6.799

The United States took the gold medal in the women’s gymnastics team final at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday, beginning with solid vaults from Simone Biles and Jade Carey and ending with a bringing-down-the-house routine by Biles on the floor exercise.

A pass from Simone Biles’s floor routine

Photographs by Joe Ward; composite image by Weiyi Cai

A fall by Jordan Chiles while mounting the beam did not come close to stopping the United States from taking the top spot — particularly once Sunisa Lee followed Chiles on the beam with a spectacular performance that earned a score more than half a point higher than her qualifying routine. Chiles later put in her own exceptional performance on the floor.

Biles was on target from the first moments of the competition, when she nailed a difficult vault called a Cheng in the same event that took her out of the team final in Tokyo three years ago.

Team Italy took the silver, its first Olympic team medal in women’s gymnastics since 1928. And despite wobbles on the beam by Brazilians Flavia Saraiva and Rebeca Andrade — both during a skill called a switch ring leap — their team placed third for its first-ever Olympic team medal. That was thanks in large part to Andrade’s stunning vault, which scored a 15.1. Brazil edged out Britain, which had a strong routine on the uneven bars by Becky Downie.

China suffered in the rankings after Zhou Yaqin’s beam routine and Qiu Qiyuan’s bars, expected to be powerhouse events for the country, both included serious mistakes.

Vault

How each team scored on the vault

Carey, who had been expected to compete on both vault and floor when she was named to the Olympic team, ended up competing only on vault on Tuesday after spending much of the past week sick. Like Biles, Carey executed a Cheng, which consists of a roundoff onto the springboard, a half turn onto the vaulting table, and a front flip with a straight body and one and a half twists.

Her legs briefly came apart early in the vault, causing a small deduction. But her body form was good after that, and she landed with just the smallest of bounces.

Jade Carey’s vault

Photographs and composite image by Weiyi Cai

Uneven Bars

How each team scored on the uneven bars

Lee delivered the team’s highest score on the uneven bars — her best event and one in which she has a chance of winning an individual medal a few days from now — despite a small error. Her feet brushed the mat as she performed a difficult full-twisting transition from the high bar to the low bar, costing her three-tenths of a point.

But the rest of her routine was rock-solid, starting with a release move called a Nabieva that very few gymnasts are capable of, and finishing with a nearly stuck full-twisting double back flip.

Sunisa Lee’s uneven bars dismount

Photographs and composite image by Jeremy White

Balance Beam

How each team scored on the balance beam

The most significant stumble for the United States came during Chiles’s routine on the balance beam, when she fell during her mount. The rest of her routine was solid, and she earned a 12.733.

Jordan Chiles’s balance beam fall

Photographs by Bedel Saget; composite image by Scott Reinhard

In a pressure-filled situation — competing just minutes after Chiles had fallen — Lee performed one of the best beam routines of her career. She didn’t wobble once, and had only a tiny hop on the landing of her dismount.

“I don’t know why, but I kind of took the pressure off myself because I was, like, ‘You know what? This doesn’t have to be perfect. Just going to go up there and do what I normally do and remember to focus and breathe,’ ” Lee said on Tuesday night after her team’s victory. “And I think that’s exactly what I did.”

One of the toughest parts of her routine was a series of three flips: a side aerial, which is a cartwheel without hands, connected directly into two back layouts.

A series from Sunisa Lee’s balance beam routine

Photographs by Bedel Saget; composite image by Jeremy White

Floor Exercise

How each team scored on the floor exercise

After her earlier mistake on beam, Chiles came roaring back with a powerful floor routine choreographed to a medley of Beyoncé songs.

While many gymnasts do four tumbling passes, Chiles does only three; their difficulty is high enough that her routine is competitive with the best in the world anyway. One of the most complex is her second pass: a full-twisting front flip connected immediately into a roundoff, back handspring and full-twisting double back flip.

A pass from Jordan Chiles’s floor routine

Photographs by Joe Ward; composite image by Scott Reinhard

“Going into tonight, we did what we were supposed to, but it just felt a little bit different. It was super exciting,” Biles said Tuesday night. “We had fun. We enjoyed each other’s time out there, and we just did our gymnastics.”

How the U.S. Team Won the Olympic Women’s Gymnastics Gold (4)

Sunisa Lee, right, and Jordan Chiles celebrating their victory.

Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

How the U.S. Team Won the Olympic Women’s Gymnastics Gold (2024)

FAQs

How the U.S. Team Won the Olympic Women’s Gymnastics Gold? ›

The United States took the gold medal in the women's gymnastics team final at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday, beginning with solid vaults from Simone Biles

Simone Biles
World Champions Centre (WCC) is an American artistic gymnastics academy, located in Spring, Texas. It is home to Olympic champion Simone Biles and is owned by her family.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › World_Champions_Centre
and Jade Carey and ending with a bringing-down-the-house routine by Biles on the floor exercise.

When did the US women's gymnastics team win gold? ›

The USA Gymnastics women have won the Olympic Gold four times, in 1996, 2012, 2016, and 2024 Summer Olympics. These successes led to the nicknames Magnificent Seven, Fierce Five, Final Five, and Golden Girls, respectively. They won four silvers in 1984, 2004, 2008, and 2020 and three bronzes in 1948, 1992 and 2000.

Who won the Olympic gold medal for female gymnastics? ›

Gold-medal-winning Olympic gymnasts Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey are heading back to school. Chiles and Carey — part of the "Golden Girls" squad led by Simone Biles that soared to gold in Paris last week — have both announced they are returning to college, Chiles at UCLA, Carey at Oregon State.

Who is the best female gymnast in the US? ›

Simone Biles becomes most decorated American gymnast

Here are just a few of her ridiculous accomplishments over the past few days: Became the most decorated U.S. gymnast (11 total medals, next-closest has seven). Took the record for most gold medals by a U.S. gymnast (7 gold medals, next-closest has five).

Who was the first American woman gymnast to win gold? ›

Mary Lou Retton catapulted to international fame by winning the All-Around Gold Medal in women's gymnastics at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, becoming the first American woman ever to win a gold medal in gymnastics.

How much did Simone Biles get for medals? ›

For the Paris Games, the USOPC is paying athletes $37,500 for every gold medal they earn. Those earning silver get $22,500 while those earning bronze get $15,000. That means Biles is in line for $135,000 just for making the podium four times over.

Who won gold women's gymnastics in 2024? ›

Who won the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics women's gymnastics all-around? Team USA gymnast Simone Biles won the gold in France. The 27 year old became the oldest all-around champion at the Olympics since 1952.

Which female gymnast has won the most Olympic gold medals? ›

Records that Simone Biles has helped the U.S. set

U.S. gymnastics is now the sole holder of the record for the most gold medals in the female individual all-around competition at the Olympics with seven gold medals.

Why are gymnasts older now? ›

The longevity of female gymnasts' careers today — the average age of Team USA increased from 16.45 in 1992 to 22.47 in 2024 — is aided by the psychological maturity and the personal independence that comes with getting older, said Amies Oelschlager.

Who is the most successful female gymnast of all time? ›

Simone Arianne Biles Owens (née Biles; born March 14, 1997) is an American artistic gymnast. Her 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals make her the most decorated gymnast in history, and she is widely considered the greatest gymnast of all time.

Who is the female goat of gymnastics? ›

Biles has been dubbed the GOAT (or Greatest of All Time) in gymnastics for her consistency, longevity and, perhaps most importantly, for her ability to push the boundaries in her sport. No gymnast has won more world championship medals than Biles and no American gymnast has won more Olympic medals than her.

Did Simone fall on floor finals? ›

Team USA gymnastics Simone Biles and Suni Lee both fell off the balance beam during women's gymnastics finals, pushing them out of contention for medals in the event. Biles closed her performance in Paris on floor by getting back onto the podium.

Did Simone place on balance beam? ›

The star U.S. gymnast was on a roll -- winning a gold medal in every final she competed in at the 2024 Paris Olympics -- but Monday's performance was a different story. Biles, 27, missed a spot on the podium when she slipped off the beam, resulting in a one-point deduction.

Does Simone Biles do gymnastics anymore? ›

But post-Tokyo, she took a full year off from competition. She met with a therapist and considered what she wanted, not what was expected of her. Eventually, Biles realized she still wanted gymnastics. And so, at age 27, a veritable old lady by the sport's standards, she heads to her third Olympic Games.

Who won the Olympic gold in women's gymnastics in 2024? ›

USA Artistic Gymnastics Women's National Team athletes Simone Biles (L), Jordan Chiles (C), Jade Carey (2nd L), Sunisa Lee (2nd R) and Healy Rivera (R), who won the gold medal, pose with their medals after the Artistic Gymnastics Women's Team Final on day four of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at the Bercy Arena in Paris ...

Which female gymnast won 3 golds and a silver at the 1972 Olympics? ›

Olga Korbut (born May 16, 1955, Grodno, Belorussia, U.S.S.R. [now Hrodna, Belarus]) is a Soviet gymnast who won three gold medals at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. At age 11, Korbut entered a Soviet sports school led by Renald Knysh, her future coach.

What events did the US win gold in? ›

The Americans won both the men's and women's 4x400-meter relays and also added golds in men's hoops and women's soccer. China won its 40th and final gold medal Sunday in women's weightlifting.

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