Simone Biles will serve as the anchor on three of four events for the U.S. during Olympic qualifying
Simone Biles will serve as the anchor on three of four events for the U.S. during Olympic qualifying
PARIS (AP) — Simone Biles will begin her quest for a second Olympic all-around title when she competes in all four events during qualifying on Sunday.
Biles, 2020 Olympic champion Sunisa Lee and 2020 Olympic silver medalist Jordan Chiles will compete on all four events in qualifying. Jade Carey, the 2020 Olympic champion on floor exercise, will compete on vault. Hezly Rivera, at 16 by far the youngest member of Team USA, will compete on balance beam and uneven bars.
During qualifying, four members of each five-woman team will compete on each event, with teams dropping their lowest score. The top eight teams will advance to the team final on Tuesday night.
Biles will serve as the anchor, or final competitor on balance beam, floor exercise and vault. She will go next-to-last for the U.S. on uneven bars, where she has submitted an original skill to the International Gymnastics Federation.
If Biles successfully completes the manuever during qualifying, it will be entered into the sport’s Code of Points, where it will carry her name. The 27-year-old superstar already has five elements named for her in the code.
Additionally, the top 24 individual qualifiers in the all-around will move on to the all-around finals scheduled for Aug. 1, with the caveat that no team may have more than two gymnasts.
The Americans are looking to return to the top of the podium after finishing second to Russia in Tokyo three years ago.
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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
