The 2024 Paris Olympic Games were eventful for the United States women’s gymnastic team – with both the individual U.S. gymnasts and the collective team finding success during the sum- mer games. The team secured a total of seven medals for the U.S. over the course of the artistic gymnastics competition. 

The U.S. team was composed of five gymnasts: Hezly Rivera, Sunisa Lee, Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles and Simone Biles. Excluding Rivera all of the aforementioned athletes participated in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics where they won silver in the team all-around competition. This year the returning gymnasts, joined by Rivera, journeyed to Paris with the goal to capture the gold this time, deeming the 2024 games their “redemption tour.” 

As a newcomer, Rivera made her debut appear- ance at the 2024 Paris games at the age of 16. She was the youngest U.S. athlete at the 2024 Olympic games, across all sports. She is from New Jersey and is the 2023 U.S. junior champion. In the Olympic Trials, Rivera joined the team after she won gold on the balance beam and came in fourth on the uneven bars. Rivera reported to the American Broadcasting Company’s “Good Morning America” that, "It feels incredible − this doesn't have to happen too often, so I'm very excited to be the youngest team member of the group." While she did not compete in the team all-around competition, Rivera did contribute to the team’s qualifying rounds. She competed in the uneven bars and achieved a 13.9, and on the balance beam she earned a 12.633. Perhaps due to her young age, she had not built up her gymnastics resume as much as her teammates, but Rivera brought valuable skills to the team nonetheless. 

Sunisa Lee won the all-around championship in the 2020 Tokyo games, making her the reigning champion coming into the 2024 Olympics. She found great success in 2020, however, she was forced to take a temporary leave from the sport due to a kidney disease diagnosis. In an interview with the “Today” show, Lee expressed, “there were so many times where I thought about quit- ting and just giving up because I was so sick, and it was just so hard to stay motivated, watching ev- erybody get better.” Due to her health struggles, Lee’s presence on this year’s team was anything but guaranteed. Nevertheless, even though Lee failed to retain her Olympic all-around title, she once again proved to be an invaluable member in this year’s competition and brought home the bronze medal for her uneven bars performance. 

Jade Carey, another individual gold medal winner from the 2020 Olympics U.S. Gymnastics team, contributed her expertise in the floor and vault events. At the age of 24, Carey has competed at Oregon State University in addition to having competed in two Olympic games. In an interview with the National Broadcasting Company prior to the Olympics, Carey recognized that commentators had been burdening their team with something to prove – to her, “some sort of redemption” that people think they want. However for Carey, it was still about the excitement of the games and she said it was “just incredible to be. . . truly en- joying the gymnastics that [she’s] doing. . .” The U.S. team clearly has high expectations, but Carey brings her talent and positive attitude. 

Jordan Chiles competed in the 2020 games and helped the U.S. team earn a silver medal in the all-around competition. Like Carey, Chiles also competed at the collegiate level for the University of California, Los Angeles. Chiles also won the all-around competition at the Winter Cup. Her win made her the first woman to even win the competition, as it was originally reserved for male gymnasts. Her dedication to the sport can be traced back to her early childhood, as she started competing for the U.S. National Team at the age of 11. In an interview with Elle magazine, Chiles said that she had “really bad Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder” when she was young and that gymnastics was a way for her to get her energy out. “I don’t know what I would've done if I wasn’t in this sport,” Chiles said in the same interview with Elle. For Chiles, going into the 2024 Olympic games comes from a combination of talent and dedication to the sport. 

As perhaps the most anticipated competitor, Simone Biles became the oldest female U.S. gymnast to compete at the Olympics since 1952 when she qualified for the team for the third time. At the age of 27, Biles is considered to be a senior gymnast, but age proved to be no obstacle for the champion. Biles had a wealth of experience coming into Paris: between the Rio and Tokyo Olympics, Biles has earned a total of seven medals, four of which were gold. 

Despite her many years of experience, Biles showed that even the most experienced gymnasts can face challenges. In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Biles was a heavy favorite to sweep competition based on her success at the 2016 Rio Olympics. However, she chose to withdraw from some of the competition due to a case of “the twisties.” The twisties is a term used by gymnasts and ac- cording to U.S.A Today’s Craig Meyer, “refer[s] to the psychological phenomenon a gymnast experiences when they encounter a disconnect between their body and mind while performing skills, like twists, in competition.” Not only can the twisties be physically dangerous to competitors who ex- perience the phenomenon, it takes a toll on gym- nasts’ mental health. Because of her experience, Biles began to raise awareness about the impor- tance of taking care of athletes’ mental health as well as physical. 

Based on their past performances, the U.S. team were heavy favorites to win the women’s team fi- nal competition for artistic gymnastics, which includes events on four apparatuses: vault, uneven bars, floor and balance beam. For the team com- petition, each country chooses three gymnasts per apparatus to contribute to the team’s overall score. Biles, Chiles, Carey and Lee all competed in at least one event, with newcomer Rivera support- ing the team on the sideline. 

The women's gymnastics team final took place on Aug. 1, starting with vault. Biles, Chiles and Carey were the three team members who participated in the event. Biles scored a 14.9, Chiles earned a 14.4, and Carey rounded out the team’s score with a 14.8. With solid vaults from all three, the U.S. score was 44.100, placing them at the top of the competition. 

Moving onto the uneven bars, Biles, Chiles and Lee contributed a combined score of 43.332. Biles got a 14.4, Chiles earned a 14.366, and Lee ended with a 14.566. After the uneven bars, the team was propelled to an impressive 87.43. 

Going into beam, the U.S. still had a comfort- able lead and control over the competition. Chiles, Biles and Lee all participated in the event. Despite Chiles’ fall upon mounting the beam and her contribution of only a 12.73, Lee and Biles picked up the lost points with a 14.6 and a 14.366 respectively. The slight slip-up on Chiles’ part did not cost the U.S. a medal as the depth of the team’s experience saved the day 

Heading into the final event, the U.S. continued to live up to their highly regarded reputation on the world stage. While the team found great success in the first three apparatuses, the floor exercise event was a particularly successful competition for Team U.S.A. Lee earned a 13.53, marking a strong start to the team’s score on the event. Chiles followed and earned a resounding 13.966. Biles closed the all team final for the U.S., earning an impressive score of 14.666. 

When all the events were finished and all the points across the events were tallied, the U.S. won gold with an overall score of 171.296, making it the first of many medals to come in women’s gymnastics for Team U.S.A. in Paris. As one of the NBC Sports announcers said, “they [the U.S. team] set out on a mission and they got the job done here tonight.” 

Italy received the silver medal with a 165.494, and Brazil took home the bronze for their country with a score of 164.497. 

The all team final competition was just the be- ginning for U.S. women’s gymnastics. Over the next few days, Lee earned two bronze medals in women's artistic individual all-around and women's uneven bars; Carey won a bronze medal in the women's vault competition; and Biles earned a gold in both the women’s vault finals and the all- round final, as well as a silver in the floor exercise finals. With a total of 11 medals, Biles is now the most decorated U.S. gymnast. 

Heading into the 2024 Olympic games there were high expectations set for the U.S. women’s gymnastics team. Fortunately, their “redemption tour” proved to be just that as the gymnasts’ per- severance and hardwork made them the best in the world.