Determined to send Martha Karolyi into retirement on a good note, the women steamrolled the rest of the world on their way to a second consecutive Olympic team title. It’s the first time the Americans have won back-to-back golds, and this one goes a long way toward cementing their legacy as the greatest team in gymnastics history.
They have won every world or Olympic title since 2011, and this was, by far, their largest margin of victory.
They finished more than eight points ahead of Russia, the kind of rout that just doesn’t happen in a sport decided by tenths and hundredths. They were so far in front they could have fallen three or four times and still won.
Not that they would have. Karolyi has made perfection the standard in her 15 years as the national team coordinator, and that’s exactly what the Americans gave her.
While other teams bobbled and wobbled, stumbled and bumbled, the U.S. women were a model of both precision and excellence. Aly Raisman and Simone Biles kicked it off on vault, soaring so high above the table the people in the first few rows had to crane their necks to watch them.
Gabby Douglas could have been a hummingbird for as easily as she floated from across the uneven bars while Madison Kocian made what is one of the most difficult routines being done look as easy as playing on the monkey bars.
And Laurie Hernandez, the youngster of the group, looked like a steely veteran. She brought the house down with her saucy, sassy floor routine, flashing a dazzling smile as the crowd clapped along to her music.
“(We’ve) been working so hard,” Raisman said after qualifying. “People see what we do out there and they think it looks easy.”
When it was all said and done, the Americans had the highest team score on all four events. Biles and Kocian tied Russia’s Aliya Mustafina for the highest score of the day, a 15.933. Their “worst” score was a 14.8, a mark any of the other teams would have been thrilled to have.
But not until their final three routines, with the Star Spangled Banner already cued up for the medals ceremony, did the Americans let loose. Raisman traded high fives with Biles and her coach, Aimee Boorman, as she trotted off floor and was quickly swallowed up by Douglas and Hernandez.
Kocian soon joined them, and the four could be heard yelling and cheering throughout Biles’ routine. As the last strains of her music faded, the other four rushed forward and the five huddled together as cheers of “U-S-A! U-S-A!” rang out.
Unlike four years ago, when the Americans clutched hands as they anxiously watched the scoreboard, there was no doubt about the final outcome. This gold had been decided long ago, and all that was left was coming up with the appropriate celebration.
And nickname, of course. They settled on “Final Five,” appropriate given they are the last of Karolyi’s teams.
The Americans were a team in turmoil when Karolyi took over in 2001, with personal coaches squabbling, no uniform system and the U.S. teams that in name only. But Karolyi set expectations for all the gymnasts and monitored their progress at monthly training camps that developed team chemistry and also broke down barriers between the coaches.
Within a year, the Americans were winning medals in bunches and they haven’t stopped since. But for as much success as the U.S. has had under Karolyi – 88 medals so far – this team is in a class by itself.
It has the potential to sweep the golds, something no country has done since individual events were added to the Olympic competition in 1952. Biles alone could win a record five, including what would be the fourth all-around title in a row for the Americans.
Perfection supposedly ended when gymnastics scrapped its 10.0 scoring system. But the Americans showed it not only still exists, it is attainable.
