Congratulations dropping in as Simone Biles batches award Gold for USA in women’s team gymnastics grts direct congratulations from town mayor…..
Congratulations dropping in as Simone Biles batches award Gold for USA in women’s team gymnastics grts direct congratulations from town mayor…..
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Paris Olympics 2024: Gold for USA in women’s team gymnastics – updates
Simone Biles and Sunisa Lee of USA celebrate after their win [Amanda Perobelli/Reuters]
By Kevin Hand
That’s it from our live coverage of the team gymnastic finals.
No surprises were produced when it came to the gold medal as Team USA swept all before them.
Italy and Brazil both see off incredible opposition to secure silver and bronze respectively.
It was all eyes on Biles, though, from the off and she will be back for the women’s all-around final which comes up on Thursday.
There’s plenty of action to come between then and now with the football and basketball events on Wednesday.
For now, though – from me, Kevin Hand – it’s goodbye.
Wednesday’s live coverage from Al Jazeera Sport
Our first live page on Wednesday comes from the women’s football event as Australia take on favourites USA.
The match begins at 7pm local time (17:00 GMT).
Then it’s over to the men’s basketball as Team USA face South Sudan at 9pm local time (19:00 GMT).
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3h ago (18:46 GMT)
Biles starts her search for five gold medals
A five-medal haul is the target for Simone Biles, and she’s collected gold on her return to the team event.
It has not been a solo effort from the 27-year-old, though, and the Paris Olympics are a family affair for Laurent and Cecile Landi, the husband and wife coaching team who have shepherded Biles back to the pinnacle of gymnastics and into a third Olympic Games.
The French couple – Cecile represented France at the 1996 Olympics and Laurent is also a former French national team member – will also be cheering on their 17-year-old daughter, Juliette, who is competing in women’s synchronised 3m springboard diving for France.
“I never dreamed of this, being in France, in Paris, both of us in the [Olympic] Village – I’m trying not to cry,” Landi said ahead of the team final after watching Biles and her US teammates train at Bercy Arena.
The couple, who met when coaching in Oklahoma, have coached US superstar Biles since 2017 – a year after she dazzled the world with four gold medals at the Rio de Janeiro Games.
They saw her through the debilitating bout of the “twisties” that put paid to most of her events at the Tokyo Games, and when Biles opted to return after a near two-year break from competition, they guided her painstakingly through the basics and back to new heights.
The supportive style of coaching they offer at World Champions Centre, the Texas gym owned and operated by Biles’s parents, sent five women to the US Olympic trials with two -Biles and Jordan Chiles – making the team and a third, 18-year-old Joscelyn Roberson, in Paris as the travelling alternate.
French medal contender Melanie de Jesus dos Santos also moved to Houston to train with them in the run-up to the Games.
“It just goes to show how amazing of coaches they are,” Biles said.
The team event may have been won by USA, but there’s a team belonging to Biles that will be pushing her to make sure this is just the beginning of the Parisian dream.
UK thought they had done enough
The best score of the entire day from Becky Downie of 14.999 and a strong finish looked to set the UK on their way but they slipped just short of a medal finish.
“Every point counts in a team final and we said we were going to go all out. We couldn’t have done anymore. We went for broke and it is a shame but there are still a couple of finals to come,” Downie told the BBC broadcast.
The scramble for second was immense
Italy’s finish marks a first team medal since 1928 in gymnastics.
Brazil have their first. The UK have to leave empty-handed, but what a scrap it was for the rest while USA competed in the Games of their own at the top.
Brazil celebrate their first team medal
The Brazilians have secured bronze with a stunning comeback to push Great Britain into fourth.
Italy have the silver after a strong display to hold off the field while USA stormed to the gold.
It’s 14.666 for Biles and team gold for USA in the gymnastics
The crowd go wild once more for Biles and the USA, much as they did for the entrance of the quintet lead by the superstar performer.
Italy move ahead of Brazil
GB must scramble from fourth to third at the last but everyone is focused on the score for Biles that will seal it.
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