Simone Biles’ Tokyo Olympics off to shaky start but golds still in reach

Simone Biles' Tokyo Olympics off to shaky start but golds still in reach

Simone Biles and her fellow Team USA gymnasts made a somewhat shaky start at the Tokyo Olympics. Biles, a four-time Olympic gold winner and the most successful U.S. gymnast ever, at one stage faced a real prospect of missing out on two of the five individual finals. The 24-year-old was penalized on two disciplines: the floor (which she normally dominates) and the vault. She flew way out of bounds on her third tumbling pass—a full-twisting double back somersault—and, as a result, was deducted 0.3 points. A maximum of two gymnasts from each country can qualify for each of next week's finals, meaning if the two remaining Americans beat her, Biles would not make this final Simone Biles of Team USA looks less than impressed during Women's Qualification on day two of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Centre on July 25, 2021Simone Biles competes in the artistic gymnastics vault event of the women's qualification during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre in Tokyo on July 25, 2021.MyKayla Skinner, however, could not better her score. And, in part thanks to her typically complex routine, Biles did enough, finishing in second place on 14.133, behind 30-year-old Italian Vanessa Ferrari, who scored 14.166. On the vault, Biles landed off the mat at the end of her first routine. But she recomposed herself to finish with just a small hop forward next time around. Once again she faced the prospect of MyKayla Skinner and Jade Carey out-scoring her. Neither did, and Biles went on to take the top spot on the apparatus, scoring 15.183, ahead of team-mate Jade Carey (15.166). On the parallel and uneven bars—perhaps her weakest events—as well as the beam, Biles scored lower than compatriot Sunisa Lee. Still, Biles' overall score of 57.131 left her ahead of Lee (57.166) in the all-around standings. With only one group of athletes still to go, Biles remains in a qualifying place for each of the five individual finals. Team USA finished second on a score of 170.526 behind the Russian Olympic Committee on 171.629. Biles is seeking to become the most decorated female Olympic gymnast of all time. Biles dazzled at the last games, Rio de Janeiro 2016, taking four medals and wowing with her signature floor move, now officially known as "The Biles," that had never been seen at the Olympics or the world championships. Since then, she has added "The Biles II," a triple-twisting double-tucked backward somersault. Win four more medals at these games in Tokyo and Biles would have more medals than any other female Olympic gymnast. Before these games, the gymnast received her own Twitter emoji, a flying GOAT with a gold medal, in recognition of her achievements and quest to become the greatest of all time. Simone Biles off to slightly shaky start at Tokyo Games


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