Gymnastics : Other teams can only marvel at United States dominance

In Rio this week, Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and the rest of the high-flying U.S. women’s team are doing their part to inspire the next generation of gymnasts.

“Just being named to the team, I’m just so honored and really grateful”, Douglas said.

But they were good enough to help Biles conquer an often formidable apparatus, the beam. Preliminary scores are wiped out before Tuesday’s team event. In Sunday’s qualifying event, Douglas’ team mates Simone Biles and Alexandra Raisman turned in higher scores as the US women dominated the competition.

Though Simone remains in contact with Shanon Biles, she is quick to correct anyone that calls Shanon her mother.

The Americans’ victory, along with the new moniker, was the flawless departing gift for retiring USA head coach Marta Karolyi, who burst into tears as she watched her adopted country win back-to-back team golds for the first time.

Biles’ vault set her apart from the competition Sunday night, earning her an outstanding score of 16.050. Karolyi is stepping away after the games, though she’s hardly in a hurry to get there. “I have great confidence in what I do and I’m really just competing against myself out there”. I know my whole career is building toward the Olympics and it can sound like a lot of pressure, but I’m just staying focused on what I can control and do my thing.

As one Olympic era opened, another closed.

Women’s gymnastics will continue Tuesday and Thursday, and Team USA will continue to show why they are a heavy favorite.

The more interesting all-around battle was between Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas for second place, as each country is limited to two participants in the final.

During the Olympic trials, Douglas fell twice on the balance beam, but on Sunday, she offered an mpressive performance during the finals. She said she had “no regrets for the most part”. Not 1-2-3 on the American team; 1-2-3 overall, 1-2-3 in the world, Douglas falling just shy of Raisman. Raisman was next. About halfway through her routine, she lost her balance, wobbled and almost fell off the beam.

The race never got closer than that the rest of the way.

In a sport where three athletes will win medals, it is freaky that gymnastics still uses a rule that countries can only have two competitors in the final and that keeps some of the best gymnasts from competing on the highest stage. A fall would have cost her a half-point deduction and perhaps a spot in the final. But only two gymnasts from each county are eligible, so reigning-champ Douglas narrowly missed the chance to defend her title. She recorded her best score, 15.766, on uneven bars. For example, Brazil has the top three women’s beach volleyball teams in the world and swept the podium at last year’s World Championships. Karolyi had been criticized for leaving her out of the mix but her logic proved right. She even managed a 15.000 on the uneven bars, which is generally her weakest event.

“It definitely was my goal”, Raisman said afterward. British gymnast Ellie Downie came back to perform Sunday after landing awkwardly on her neck in the midst of a floor exercise performance. Unlike the other seven, the Americans didn’t slip off uneven bars.

So commanding and consistent were the USA performances that members of the silver and bronze medal teams said they were essentially competing for the second place.

“I feel sad for Laurie and Gabby because they’re also the best all-arounders in the world”, Raisman said.