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ROC Tops USA in 2021 Olympic Women's Gymnastics Team All-Around with Simone Biles Out
July 27, 2021
On the heels of Simone Biles leaving the women's gymnastics team competition after just one rotation at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo on Tuesday, Team USA fell to the Russian Olympic Committee.
ROC took gold with a total score of 169.528, while the Americans settled for silver with a score of 166.096. Great Britain won bronze with 164.096 points.
Here is a look at the full finishing order, courtesy of Olympics.com:
1. Russian Olympic Committee: 169.528
2. United States: 166.096
3. Great Britain: 164.096
4. Italy: 163.638
5. Japan: 163.280
6. France: 163.264
7. China: 161.196
8. Belgium: 159.695
Biles was removed from the competition after falling on her vault attempt. Biles scored just 13.766 on the vault, which was well below her usual score:
#Tokyo2020 @Tokyo2020Reports are stating that Simone Biles is being attended to by a trainer and has left the field of play at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tokyo2020?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Tokyo2020</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SimoneBiles?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SimoneBiles</a> has not warmed up for the uneven bars, USA's second apparatus and reserve Jordan Chiles has.<br><br>More to come.. <a href="https://t.co/dGyacVsVQO">pic.twitter.com/dGyacVsVQO</a>
Jordan Chiles replaced Biles on the uneven bars, and Al Butler of United Press International reported a Team USA coach told the NBC broadcast that Biles exited the competition because of a "mental issue" and not an injury.
USA Gymnastics later released a statement, saying Biles had a "medical issue" and would be assessed moving forward:
USA Gymnastics @USAGymOfficial statement: "Simone Biles has withdrawn from the team final competition due to a medical issue. She will be assessed daily to determine medical clearance for future competitions."<br><br>Thinking of you, Simone! <a href="https://t.co/QA1GYHwWTv">pic.twitter.com/QA1GYHwWTv</a>
Despite losing arguably the greatest gymnast of all time early in the team competition, Team USA remained within striking distance throughout thanks to strong performances from Chiles, Sunisa Lee and Grace McCallum on the uneven bars and balance beam.
The Americans were only about a half-point behind the ROC when the final rotation began, but disaster struck during the floor exercise. Chiles slipped and fell late in her routine, scoring just 11.700 points.
While the miscue was disappointing for 20-year-old and Team USA, Juliet Macur of the New York Times attempted to put her overall performance in perspective:
With the second-place finish, Team USA's run of Olympic gold in the team competition came to an end at two in a row, although the Americans are still the reigning five-time world champions in the team event.
The silver medal is the first of Biles' Olympic career after she won four golds and one bronze at the 2016 Summer Games. Meanwhile, Lee, Chiles and McCallum all won their first Olympic medals on Tuesday.
As for ROC, the quartet of Liliia Akhaimova, Viktoriia Listunova, Angelina Melnikova and Vladislava Urazova brought a Russian team its first gold in women's team gymnastics since the Unified Team took gold in 1992.
A ruling last year by the Court of Arbitration for Sport banned Russia's team name as punishment for an extensive doping program and cover-ups, and all Russian athletes at the Tokyo Games are competing for the ROC.