With the news that Simone Biles was out of the women’s all-round competition, all eyes were on Sunisa Lee as the American gymnast who would most likely become Olympic champion by the end of the day.
Lee was ready for the challenge. The 18-year-old put together a series of masterful performances to win Brazilian Rebeca Andrade (57,298) to the gold medal with an overall score of 57,433. Lee becomes the sixth American gymnast to achieve the feat. Andrade’s silver is the first Olympic medal ever for Brazil in women’s gymnastics.
We’ve got you covered with all the action you might have missed during a dramatic all-round finale:
Suni Lee is golden
With her teammates in the stands and her family gathered for a clock party at home in St. Paul, Minnesota, Suni Lee became the fifth American woman in a row to win Olympic gold.
OLYMPIC ALL-AROUND CHAMPION SUNISA LEE. #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/l3CR3Fv8JJ
– Team USA (@TeamUSA) July 29, 2021
Hugs to a master ❤️# Tokyo2020 #BEER # StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/8kTWU5ji0J
– FIG (@gymnastics) July 29, 2021
.@sunisalee_ YOU ARE A SUPERSTAR.
– Alexandra Raisman (@Aly_Raisman) July 29, 2021
@sunisalee_ ATTA GIRL WE ARE SO VERY PROUD OF YOU !! YES I SCREAM
– Laurie Hernandez (@LaurieHernandez) July 29, 2021
Minnesota: The State of GymNastics – How Are We Doing This Morning? 🗣️@sunisalee_ x #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/NYhAlYcTOF
– Team USA (@TeamUSA) July 29, 2021
Lee led Brazilian Rebeca Andrade by a tenth of a point on her way into the final rotation on the floor – one of Andrade’s strongest events and a weaker one for Lee. Angelina Melnikova of ROC jumped ahead early in the rotation after a strong, clean performance, but Lee responded and returned to the top of the rankings with only Andrade and Jade Carey left to perform. Andrade rebounded out of bounds on his first pass and stepped out for the second time, securing gold for Lee. Andrade took silver, and Melnikova took bronze. – Alyssa Roenigk
The final position:
1. Sunisa Lee, USA – 57,433
2. Rebeca Andrade, Brazil – 57,298
3. Angelina Melnikova, Russian Olympic Committee – 57199
4. Vladislava Urazova, Russian Olympic Committee – 56,966
May 5 Murakami, Japan– 56,032
6. Nina Derwael, Belgium – 55,965
7. Tang Xijing, China – 54,498
8. Jade Carey, USA – 54,199
Suni takes the lead with one rotation back
With only one event left, things have become much interesting here in Tokyo. While Sunisa Lee holds the top spot after three events, it looks set to be a four-way race at the top of the rankings between Lee, Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade and Russian Olympic Committee Angelina Melnikova and Vladislava Urazova. Everyone is within a half point of each other.
Lee scored 13,833 on beam in her third event after saving her wolf trip – significantly less than the 14,200 she earned in qualifying, but still the second-best score in her rotation. Urazova had the group’s best score with 14,200.
Jade Carey opened the rotation and fell off the beam during her acrobatic series, giving her 11,533 and virtually eliminating her chances of a medal.
No matter what happens, you will not blink during this last rotation.
Position after third rotation:
1. Sunisa Lee, USA – 43,733
2. Rebeca Andrade, Brazil – 43,632
3. Vladislava Urazova, Russian Olympic Committee – 43,566
4. Angelina Melnikova, Russian Olympic Committee – 43,233
5. Nina Derwael, Belgium – 42,532
12. Jade Carey, USA – 40,233
Suni Lee comes to play; Rebeca Andrade leads
The bar rotation in the top group was an epic battle, with Suni Lee sticking to her very difficult routine – and earning a huge 15,300. Not everything went perfectly for Lee, but she made adjustments throughout and received the highest score of the day so far at that event.
15,300 bars for @sunisalee_. RT if you stand. #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/nZqycwTCIz
– Team USA (@TeamUSA) July 29, 2021
Belgium’s Nina Derwael, a two-time world champion on poles, hit all of her releases for 15,266, and ROC team gymnasts Angelina Melnikova and Vladislava Urazova beat their matching skills to almost matching scores of 14,900 and 14,866, respectively.
Rebeca Andrade set a strong 14,666 with her high, effortless slip moves – and leads all-around, less than a tenth ahead of Lee. Jade Carey missed a combination early in her routine and earned 13,500 – more than half a point lower than her qualifying score. – Amy Van Deusen
Position after second rotation:
1. Rebeca Andrade, Brazil – 29,966
2. Sunisa Lee, USA – 29,900
3. Angelina Melnikova, Russian Olympic Committee – 29,533
4. Vladislava Urazova, Russian Olympic Committee – 29,366
5. Nina Derwael, Belgium – 29,166
6. Jade Carey, USA – 28,700
American gymnasts start strong
If the first rotation has been any indication, it will be one much interesting evening in Tokyo. Americans Sunisa Lee and Jade Carey both opened on vaulting and made their cases as legitimate medal candidates.
Lee, who was the first to compete at the event, had an almost flawless Yurchenko double twist and earned 14.6. Carey, who had the second-highest volt score in qualifying on Sunday, got 15.2 for his Cheng. She had a small jump back on the landing, but otherwise came up with a very strong opening statement.
* FAST * COLD AS MEMORY SOOTHER, SUNI! 🥶
– Team USA (@TeamUSA) July 29, 2021
Bom. 15,200 vault from @jadeacarey. #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/xxiq0XVdgy
– Team USA (@TeamUSA) July 29, 2021
Lee and Carey embraced after completing the event, apparently both happy with their results.
Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, who had the third highest qualifying score on the jump, achieved 15.3 – the night’s best score at any event so far. The 22-year-old comes after his third ACL operation and finished 11th in the all-round competition in Rio. – From Arcy Maine
Position after first rotation:
1. Andrade, Brazil
2. Carey, USA
3. Angelina Melnikova, Russian Olympic Committee
4. Lee, USA
5. Vladislava Urazova, Russian Olympic Committee
Biles is in the stands
Simone Biles is not attending Thursday’s event, but she is in the building. She sits with teammates Jordan Chiles, Grace McCallum (not pictured) and MyKayla Skinner in the front row, and they have already been heard cheering loudly for Suni Lee and Jade Carey during the warm-up and introduction. – From Arcy Maine
It’s almost time …
This is the last countdown and expectations are high.
https://t.co/mceEnCZ4Vr: Women’s All-Around Finals i #ArtisticGymnastics is about to begin and the voltage could not be higher. 🤩 It’s everyone’s competition – who gets up tonight to claim the Olympics 🥇🥈🥉? Let’s find out. # Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/3nRA2zquTd
– FIG (@gymnastics) July 29, 2021
All eyes will be on American athletes Lee and Jade Carey as they compete to be crowned the new individual all-around champion. Today’s start list for the first shift:
UnOnly 1⃣ hour to kl @ Tokyo2020 Women #ArtisticGymnastics The All-Around final kicks off at the Ariake Gymnastics Center! 🚨
This is how the 24 gymnasts line up for the opening rotation 👇# Tokyo2020 #BEER # StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/Y7bYUUVSg4
– FIG (@gymnastics) July 29, 2021
Who wins with Biles out?
Is not that the million-dollar question. If one looks at qualifying results, the four gymnasts after Biles were all only 0.300 apart. It will be interesting.
Here’s everything you need to know – plus more about Jade Carey, the American athlete who will now compete in Biles’ place.
Made by Lee
Sunisa Lee, known as Suni, has one of the best bar routines in the world – and she finished in third place in all-around in qualifying. Lee is a triple world medal winner and has the certificate to finish on the Olympic podium. Writer Alyssa Roenigk spent time with her close family before the Olympics, and believe us, her story is worth reading.
SUNI. LEE.
Can’t get enough of these family photos. ❤️ #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/uSGscJmRjm
– #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) July 28, 2021
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