Something more than gold: How US gymnasts earned silver
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Noah Robertson Staff writer
| Tokyo
After a skittish performance at qualifiers Sunday night, Simone Biles thought that when she finished competing that night, she would stop feeling judged.
She didn鈥檛.
The global face of the Olympic Games, Ms. Biles continued to feel like the world was watching her even after she received her final score and left the arena. So the next day, she let the world know how that felt.聽
Why We Wrote This
It can sound clich茅 to say the spirit of the Games is about more than winning gold. Not today. Simone Biles made history with her difficult decision to withdraw, as did her team with its staunch support of her.
鈥淚 truly do feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders at times,鈥� the gymnast posted to 5 million followers on Instagram. 鈥淚 know I brush it off and make it seem like pressure doesn鈥檛 affect me but damn, sometimes it鈥檚 hard.鈥�
A night later, at Tuesday鈥檚 team all-around final, she decided that weight was too much to bear.
On her first apparatus, Ms. Biles ran down the mat intending to execute a 2.5 twist Amanar vault, but faltered midair and hastily landed, a twist short. Walking to her coaches, and then toward the training room, she decided she wasn鈥檛 in a place to compete.
Ms. Biles withdrew 鈥� and then did the same with Thursday鈥檚 individual all-around final, citing the need to protect her physical and mental health.聽
Thrust suddenly into events they didn鈥檛 warm up for, or even plan to compete in on Tuesday, her three teammates rallied for a silver medal, behind an exacting, consistent Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) squad. For a U.S. group that dominated the international circuit for years approaching Tokyo, anything lower than gold was sure to disappoint expectations. But the U.S. women鈥檚 team accepted the cost. If the price of a teammate鈥檚 well-being was a gold medal, they would pay it.聽
Athletes often say there鈥檚 more to the Games than winning the gold, but there are few chances to prove they mean it. Tuesday鈥檚 final was a rare 鈥� perhaps unique 鈥� moment where a team under enormous pressure to succeed had a chance to prioritize something more personal, and did. In the process, the U.S. women鈥檚 gymnastics team may have redefined success at the Olympics and set a new standard for supporting a teammate.
鈥淲e were telling [Ms. Biles], look, this is for you, this is for yourself,鈥� said teammate Jordan Chiles. 鈥淵ou shouldn鈥檛 put yourself in such a high-expectation [environment] because you don鈥檛 need to carry that much on you.鈥�
Difficult decision
At the team qualifiers on Sunday, the group was uncharacteristically imprecise. Ms. Biles stepped out of bounds during the floor routine and off the mat while landing her vault. Ms. Chiles fell off the balance beam and then fumbled her dismount. At the end of the night, a stunned U.S. placed second, behind the ROC.
Team USA鈥檚 high-performance coordinator Tom Forster ascribed the performance to nerves. While the U.S. team had won world championships, all of its current members except for Ms. Biles are in their first Olympics. Sometimes athletes just need to adjust to the stage.
鈥淭his might be a great awakening for us,鈥� he said on Sunday, 鈥渁nd we鈥檒l take advantage of it.鈥�
But following Ms. Biles鈥� first vault at the team final, it was clear there was more at work than nerves. Ms. Biles performs with bravura, especially on this apparatus聽鈥� where, in May, she became the first woman to attempt a Yurchenko double pike in competition.
So when Ms. Biles abandoned a routine skill midair and stumbled through her landing, silent alarms began ringing, for her and her team.聽
鈥淎fter that vault I was like, I鈥檓 not in the right headspace,鈥� said Ms. Biles. If she were to continue at that point, she felt she would either injure herself or cost the team a medal. She spoke to her coaches, who initially encouraged her to keep going, and told them she needed to withdraw.聽
In the meantime, her teammates didn鈥檛 know what was happening. 鈥淲e were all so stressed,鈥� said Sunisa Lee, who had placed third overall in the Sunday qualifiers. 鈥淲e honestly didn鈥檛 know what to do in that moment.鈥�
At the end of the warmup period between events, Ms. Biles reentered the arena, huddled with her team, and told them the news 鈥� which almost certainly meant the U.S. would struggle to win gold. Ms. Biles is the most decorated gymnast of all time, and even on off days her scores rank near the top of the leaderboard.
鈥淲hen we were all standing there together, I was like, don鈥檛 even focus on the scoreboard because it鈥檚 not even important right now,鈥� said Ms. Lee. 鈥淲e lost a teammate, so we just really needed to come together as a team.鈥�
Ms. Biles put on a tracksuit, and Ms. Chiles, who had only planned to compete in two events on Tuesday, put on her grips for the uneven bars.
鈥淭hey were definitely some big shoes that I had to fill,鈥� said Ms. Chiles.聽
Ready, set, lead
What proceeded was an impressive display of grace under pressure. In the qualifying round, each of a team鈥檚 four members competes on each apparatus, with the lowest score deducted. In finals, the team selects three members for each event, and every score counts.
Suddenly without its leader and highest scorer, the team held composure. Ms. Lee scored one of the highest uneven bar routines of the Tokyo Olympics. Grace McCallum shook off her warmup nerves on the balance beam and held steady. Until the last apparatus, when Ms. Chiles fell during a landing on floor, the team was contending for gold.聽
鈥淚 am proud for everybody stepping up,鈥� said Ms. McCallum. 鈥淚t is really hard to lose the best in the world, and we definitely felt more stressed. But I am proud of how we did.鈥�
Until Tuesday, said Ms. Lee, Ms. Biles had carried them to the Olympics聽鈥� and even as teammates, the 鈥淕reatest of All Time鈥� is still her idol. When Ms. Chiles wanted to give up , Ms. Biles helped her find a healthier approach to the sport.
Talented as the other members are, none of them attract Ms. Biles鈥� level of attention or scrutiny. None of them felt the same burden of defending an Olympic gold medal, or single-handedly representing not only a team or a sport or a country, but also the entire Olympics. None of them were on Team USA when team doctor Larry Nassar鈥檚 sexual abuse was exposed, leading to a period of turmoil and high turnover in the organization.聽
But when their teammate withdrew, the pressure changed. The weight of expectations shifted to their shoulders. They had to lead their leader.
While speaking afterward, fenced off from a swarm of eager reporters, Ms. Biles began to cry.聽
鈥淚 know that this Olympic Games, I wanted it to be for myself,鈥� she continued. 鈥淚 came here and I felt like I was still doing it for other people. So that just hurts my heart that doing what I love has been kind of taken away from me.鈥�
While she spoke her teammates huddled around her and gave her a hug. It was OK, they told her throughout the night, and into the press conference afterward. She was part of the team, and a team stands together.
鈥淚f it wasn鈥檛 for her, we wouldn鈥檛 be here where we are right now,鈥� said Ms. Chiles. 鈥淲e wouldn鈥檛 be silver Olympic medalists because of who she is as a person.鈥�
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 just do this for ourselves,鈥� said Ms. Chiles. 鈥淲e also did this for her.鈥�
