Paris Olympics gymnastics preview: Simone Biles, Suni Lee, and what to expect.
4 months, 4 weeks ago

Paris Olympics gymnastics preview: Simone Biles, Suni Lee, and what to expect.

Slate  

This is part of Slate’s 2024 Olympics coverage. If you’re like most of the normal world, the last time you thought about the sport of women’s artistic gymnastics was probably sometime in 2021, when a heavily favored Simone Biles abruptly withdrew from most of the Tokyo Olympics and you learned what the term twisties meant. Even with Rivera, this puts the average age of the Americans at 22, the age Aly Raisman was in 2016, when a 19-year-old Biles called her “Grandma,” because at the time, gymnastics was still considered a teenager’s sport in the U.S. Twenty-two was the oldest oldie who’d ever olded. The stars from many of the countries you will likely see in both the team final and all-around individual competition are in their mid-20s and even early 30s: Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, Flávia Saraiva, and Jade Barbosa ; Great Britain’s Becky Downie ; France’s Mélanie de Jesus dos Santos ; and Canada’s Ellie Black. The short version is that the trend toward longer gymnastics careers began with a revamp of the Code of Points after the 2004 Olympics, which did away with the “Perfect 10” system in favor of an open-ended scoring code that awards more points for more difficult skills—skills that sometimes favor a body composition that is more muscular than the tiny, light, breakable-looking child’s physique that dominated in the late 20th century.

History of this topic

Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles: A Powerful Duo on the Path to Recovery
54 years, 11 months ago
Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles open up about the importance of leading by example
54 years, 11 months ago
Simone Biles' Post-Olympic Tour: A Show for the Men's Gymnastics World
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4 months ago
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4 months, 1 week ago
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Everything Simone Biles did at the Paris Olympics was amplified. She thrived in the spotlight
4 months, 2 weeks ago
Simone Biles makes shocking revelation about her body ‘shutting down’ at 2024 Paris Olympics
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Paris 2024 Olympics highlights: Iconic moments you don't want to miss!
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Paris 2024 Olympics: Sunisa Lee credits doctors and team for lifting her to Games glory
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Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles slammed by NFL star after losing floor final at Paris Olympics
4 months, 2 weeks ago
Simone Biles says bow to Rebeca Andrade was ‘all about sportsmanship.’ It bothered an NFL star
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Paris Olympics gymnastics event finals: Simone Biles and Rebeca Andrade on balance beam and floor exercise.
4 months, 2 weeks ago
Simone Biles And Jordan Chiles Give Gold Medalist Her Due In Viral Photo
4 months, 2 weeks ago
Simone Biles Earns Silver Medal For Floor Routine
4 months, 2 weeks ago
Simone Biles appears to HIT OUT at Olympics crowd after falling off beam - as teammate Suni Lee blames 'tense' atmosphere in Paris
4 months, 2 weeks ago
It was oddly quiet at the Olympics balance beam final, and Simone Biles says the gymnasts noticed
4 months, 2 weeks ago
Simone Biles caps Paris Olympics ‘Redemption Tour’ with one last medal — silver in floor routine
4 months, 2 weeks ago
Biles caps OIympic campaign with floor exercise silver after beam fall
4 months, 2 weeks ago
‘She’s queen.’ Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles honor floor gold medalist Rebeca Andrade
4 months, 2 weeks ago
"It’s hard, but we did it": Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles wrap Olympics with more medals
4 months, 2 weeks ago
Paris 2024: How Olympics are redefining body types
4 months, 2 weeks ago
Simone Biles hints at an appearance for LA Olympic Games 2028: ‘Next Olympics is at home, so…’
4 months, 3 weeks ago
Simone Biles Olympics 2024: The Olympics’ biggest hero has beef with its biggest villain.
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The Sports Report Olympics edition: Simone Biles and Katie Ledecky score more gold
4 months, 3 weeks ago
Simone Biles Drops 3-Word Response To Question On Olympics 2028 Appearance
4 months, 3 weeks ago
Paris Olympics gymnastics: Why Simone Biles’ vault final for gold against Rebeca Andrade was unprecedented.
4 months, 3 weeks ago
Simone Biles jokes that she's getting 'really old' when asked if she will compete in 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
4 months, 3 weeks ago
Olympics fans laud Simone Biles for post-vault moment with top rival after USA star admitted she 'doesn't want to compete with her no more'
4 months, 3 weeks ago
Simone Biles draws star-studded crowd at vault finals including John Travolta, Andy Murray and Pharrell
4 months, 3 weeks ago
Simone Biles Continues Her 'Redemption Tour' With A Third Olympic Gold
4 months, 3 weeks ago
Olympics Day 8: US-Japan women's soccer kicks off action-packed day at the Paris Olympics
4 months, 3 weeks ago
Olympics gymnastics schedule: Every event, date and start time at Paris 2024
4 months, 3 weeks ago
Simone Biles wins vault final for third gold at Paris Olympics 2024
4 months, 3 weeks ago
Simone Biles captures her seventh Olympic gold medal, winning vault in Paris
4 months, 3 weeks ago
Simone Biles vaults to her third gold of the Paris Olympics; Jade Carey snags bronze in redemption from Tokyo
4 months, 3 weeks ago
Simone Biles is back — as good as or even better than ever
4 months, 3 weeks ago
Gymnast Rebeca Andrade becomes first Brazilian woman to win 4 Olympic medals, clinches silver in all-around event
4 months, 3 weeks ago
The United States of Simone Biles
4 months, 3 weeks ago

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