What Was the Injury Scare that Simone Biles Overcame to Finish 1st in Gymnastics Qualifiers?
Viewers saw Biles complete the difficult Yurchenko double pike on the vault — all with her ankle wrapped following a tough warm-up at the start of the day.
Simone Biles continues to prove why people call her the G.O.A.T.
The gymnast advanced past the qualifications round in her first day of competition at the Olympics while struggling with a potential injury throughout the day. Her coach, Cecile Landi, said that the athlete "felt a little something in her calf" during warm-up on the floor earlier in the day, prompting them to wrap her ankle, according to NPR.
Though there was concern that the injury could worsen in competition, Landi noted that it was "never in her mind" that she'd withdraw from today's events.
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The 27-year-old went on to earn a 15.3 on the vault, a 14.733 on the beam, a 14.433 on the uneven bars and a 14.6 on the floor (14.600), per NBC Olympics. All in all, she ended the day with an all-around score of 59.566, leaving her in first place in the individual all-around.
"What she was able to do, with looking like she had some soreness or something in her lower leg, is remarkable," said women's team technical lead Chellsie Memmel.
Suni Lee and Simone Biles advance to individual all-around finals
Though Jordan Chiles was a strong contender to advance to the finals, teammate Suni Lee beat her score by less than a tenth — 0.067, to be exact — in the uneven bars. Since there's a two-per country rule for the individual all-around, Chiles will sit out the event on Tuesday.
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This makes Tuesday a historic moment, as it will mark the first time that Lee and Biles, two individual all-around champions from the same country, compete against each other in the finals, according to NBC News.
Snoop Dogg, Anna Wintour, and Tom Cruise cheer on Team USA
Multiple celebrities were spotted in the crowds during Sunday's competition, including Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour and Mission Impossible star Tom Cruise. They were joined by NBC Sports correspondent and rapper Snoop Dogg, who has been visiting with Olympians and their families throughout the Olympics in Paris.
They were among the many in the crowd to witness Biles score a 15.8 on her first go at the vault, where she did a Yurchenko double pike.
Jade Carey was another top competitor in the vault, but stumbled a bit on her floor routine, which earned a score of 10.633. The athlete later shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, "i haven’t been feeling the best the past few days but i gave it everything i had today. thank you for all the support i have received. i’m so grateful."
See how the U.S. gymnastics team does when the individual portion of the competition continues on Tuesday, and see the complete schedule of gymnastics events here.
