The Summer 2024 Olympics flew by! France welcomed nearly 10,500 athletes to compete in 32 different sports. Here’s what you need to know about the gold medal-winning USA Women’s Gymnastics Team.
Background & History
Women’s gymnastics has a long history in the Olympics; it was first introduced in 1896 at the Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. After that, women’s gymnastics quickly became a popular event, capturing audiences worldwide. The USA women’s gymnastics team has won the Olympic gold 4 times in 1996, 2012, 2016, and 2024. There are 4 events for women’s gymnastics at the Olympics: vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor. This sport is difficult and requires lots of skill. To be on team USA requires a lot of training and exercise. Athletes are picked through a process called the Olympic trials. Once they are chosen for the team, the hosts of the games help fly the athletes out. The teams improve every 4 years, training hard to place in the different events.
2024 Summer Olympics
Women’s gymnastics is a popular sport that contributed to the success of this year’s Olympics. Gymnastics was one of the most watched sports this year. The gymnasts that played a role in bringing home the gold for Team USA this year were Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jade Carey, Hezly Rivera and Jordan Chiles. There was a lot of competition at this year’s games, but Biles came through and won the Individual All-Around gold, becoming the oldest all-around champion since 1952 at 27 years old. She also holds another record for the longest gap between gold medals won in vault and individual all-around. Lee’s performance on uneven bars and balance beam helped to secure the gold in the team event. Lee claimed bronze medals in the individual all-around on uneven bars. This 21 year-old really gave it her all this year. Unfortunately, Biles and Lee both fell off the beam during their routines. Lee shared why she and Biles lost balance, explaining that the arena was too quiet. Lee explained the quiet made her feel off balance. Chiles, who is 23, won her first individual gold medal for her floor routine. This is a huge comeback for her after only winning silver in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Carey came to win and earned 1 gold medal for the team and 1 bronze medal after her brave performance on vault. This 24-year-old contributed a lot of dedication to this year’s Olympics. Another amazing gymnast Hezly Rivera is only 16 years of age and competed for team USA as well. She competed on uneven bars and balance beam. Unfortunately, Hezly did not compete in the team final but still won a gold medal in the Team All-Around. Hezly is the youngest athlete on Team USA.
Simone Biles
Simone Biles is an amazing gymnast from the U.S. who stands at just 4’8″. Over the course of her gymnastics career, Biles has won 7 Olympic medals, 30 world championship medals, and a world record of 6 all-around titles. Biles is currently 27 years old and began her elite career as a gymnast at age 14. Biles has made history throughout her career by having five gymnastics skills named after her. The first skill named after her is “The Biles I.” This skill is on floor and involves a double layout with a half-twist in the second flip. Her other skills are “The Biles I” on vault, “The Biles” on beam, and the “Biles II” on floor. These skills are very hard to master and took her lots of training. The most recent skill named after her is “The Biles II” on vault. This move is on vault with two flips in a pike position. She performed this skill during the all-around final in the 2024 Summer Olympics. Another important moment in Bile’s gymnastics career is when she made the difficult decision to drop out of the 2020 Olympics. USA Gymnastics said Biles pulled out due to a “medical issue” and would be “assessed daily to determine medical clearance for future competitions.” After this, Biles said she was not physically injured but was prioritizing her mental health and trying to ensure that she would not jeopardize her team’s chances at medaling. Many felt sorrow for Biles, but she came back stronger to win gold in the Individual All-Around at the 2024 Olympics!
Conclusion
Women’s gymnastics is a very interesting sport with many different events and skills. All the athletes that compete inspire girls and women to join this sport. Thanks to the Olympics, we get to see talented women who gave their blood, sweat, and tears to this sport. There are many sports to choose from, but, according to the athletes themselves, gymnastics doesn’t just give you strength, it also gives you friendships that last a lifetime. As Simone Biles once said, “Gymnastics is just one part of my life, and I’m having as much fun as possible with it.”
Works Cited:
- https://www.nbcolympics.com/news/gymnastics-2024-paris-olympic-games (Olympic Gymnastics Preview: Paris 2024 Event Guide, Athletes, How to Watch, Daily Schedule, n.d.)
- https://www.eonline.com/news/1405976/2024-olympics-gymnast-suni-lee-explains-why-she-fell-off-balance-beam
- Rahbar, S. (2024 August 09). Gymnast Suni Lee Explains Why She Fell Off Balance Beam.
- https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2024/07/28/simone-biles-twisties-usa-gymnastics-2020-tokyo-olympics-withdrew-2024-paris/74329632007/#:~:text=In%20the%20immediate%20aftermath%2C%20USA,to%20ensure%20that%20a%20diminished
- Meyer C. (2024 July 28). What are the Twisties? Why USA’s Simone Biles withdrew from 2020 Tokyo Olympic gymnastic competitions.
- https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/paris-2024-summer-olympics/usa-gymnastics-medals-simone-biles-suni-lee/3934395/#:~:text=%20looked%20as%20comfortable%20as,all-around%20and%20uneven%20bar
- Reardon, L. (2024 August 05). Top moments: Teaam USA gymnastics dominates with 10 medals in 2024 Olympics.
- https://osubeavers.com/news/2024/8/3/womens-gymnastics-jade-carey-wins-bronze-at-olympic-vault-final
- Athletic Communications. (2024 August 03). Jade Carey Wins Bronze at Olymic Vault Final.
- https://www.nbcolympics.com/news/olympic-gymnastics-paris-2024-biggest-stories-replays-medal-results-top-athletes-new-records
- Buhler A. (2024 August 11). Olympic Gymnatics at Paris 2024: Biggest stories, replays, medal results, top athletes, new records.
- https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/simone-biles-quotes
- (Simone Biles Quotes – BrainyQuote, n.d.)
