- Twenty-four women set to compete for Olympic all-around title
- Biles’ twisties: mental block which puts gymnasts at serious risk
- Tweet Bryan at @BryanAGraham, email him or comment below
Hello and welcome to Ariake Gymnastics Centre for today’s women’s individual all-around final. For a long, long time up until less than 48 hours ago, today’s contest was thought to be a little more than a walkover. American megastar Simone Biles was the runaway favorite to become the oldest woman in more than five decades to win the Olympic all-around title, the sport’s most coveted prize, and the first repeat champion since Vera Caslavska did it for the former Czechoslovakia in 1968. And with good reason! The incandescent Biles has walked away with the overall title in every major international competition she’s entered since 2013, often winning by margins that are unusually large for gymnastics.
Then came Tuesday’s women’s team all-around, when the 19-time world champion and four-time Olympic gold medalist removed herself from the contest following one rotation citing her mental health and the intense pressure she’s faced. The next day, Biles withdrew from today’s individual all-around, though she’s left the door open to compete in the four apparatus finals she’s qualified for next week.
Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime, here is a look at the start list for today’s all-around final.
Start list for today’s Olympic women’s individual all-around final (6:50am ET). The first group of Lee (USA), Andrade (BRA), Carey (USA), Derwael (BEL), Urazova (ROC) and Melnikova (ROC) will begin on vault and end on floor. pic.twitter.com/v0u9WfUc43