Two members of Team USA's women's gymnastics squad will return to the mat Thursday for the women's gymnastics individual all-around finals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Those two are Simone Biles, 27, and Sunisa Lee, 21, who will battle for gold and attempt to continue a streak of an American atop the medal stand for a sixth consecutive Olympic title. Carly Patterson won at the 2004 Athens Games, Nastia Liukin at the 2008 Beijing Games, Gabby Douglas at the 2012 London Games, Biles at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games and Lee at the Tokyo Games three years ago.
Biles has an 11-year unbeaten streak in the all-around in meets she has started and finished into the finals. If she finishes atop the podium at 27 years, four months and 18 days, she will be the oldest all-around champion since then 30-year-old Maria Gorokhovskaya of the Soviet Union during the first women’s all-around competition in 1952.
Some more perspective on how long Biles has been on top: Olympic teammate Hezly Rivera had just turned 5 the year Biles won her first national and world titles.
Earlier this week, Team USA took gold following a brilliant performance at the Women's Artistic Gymnastics Team final, with four of five team members competing. Hezly Rivera, 16, also on the team, did not qualify for Tuesday's events.
Who is competing for Team USA at the women's gymnastics individual all around final?
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Thursday's women's gymnastics individual all-around final won't include the full team either, with only Biles and Lee competing.
Jade Carey will not compete Thursday, and neither will Jordan Chiles, despite posting one of the top scores during the women's gymnastics all-around qualifications over the weekend.
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The reason behind this is the Olympic gymnastics' “two-per-country” rule, which allows only two gymnasts from each country to compete in each final. This means even if several of Team USA’s athletes put up successful scores, only the two highest-scoring gymnasts from the team can compete in each event.
MORE: Simone Biles' viral post shading MyKayla Skinner sets gymnastics world ablaze
In Team USA's case, Chiles at qualifications narrowly missed out on her shot at an individual all-around medal: Despite her successful finish and impressive score, the two-per-country rule knocked her out of consideration when she finished just .067 points below teammate Lee. Biles was the top-scoring member of Team USA.
Chiles does have one more chance at a medal this weekend after qualifying for the finals on floor. She also had a good enough score to qualify on vault, but she didn’t make that final because she finished behind countrymates Biles and Carey.
What time does the women's gymnastics individual all-around final begin?
The individual all-around final takes place Aug. 1, beginning at 11:15 a.m. on NBC 5 and stream it on Peacock. It will also re-air in primetime at 7 p.m.
Individual all-around final full schedule and lineup for Team USA
ROTATION ONE: Rotation one for Team USA will be vault, with Suni Lee going for Team USA first. After Brazil's Rebeca Andrade, Biles will vault. Rotation one also includes uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise, but Team USA won't compete in those during rotation one
ROTATION TWO: Rotation two for Team USA will be uneven bars. Andrade will go first, then Biles. Lee will compete last. Rotation two also includes vault, balance beam and floor exercise, but Team USA won't compete in those during rotation two.
ROTATION THREE: Rotation three for Team USA will be balance beam. Biles will perform first, and Lee will go second to last. Rotation three also includes vault, uneven bars and floor exercise, but Team USA won't compete in those during rotation three.
ROTATION FOUR: Rotation four for Team USA will be the floor exercise. Lee will go, fourth, and Biles will perform last. Rotation four also includes vault, uneven bars and beam, but Team USA won't compete in those during rotation three.
How does gymnastics scoring work?
Between the various apparatuses, competition formats and additional rules, there is a lot to follow when it comes to gymnastics — and that’s before even getting into the turns, spins and twists of the gymnasts themselves.
Here's a breakdown of how it all works.
Remaining women's gymnastics schedule
Vault final: Aug. 3
Biles and Carey both qualified for the vault final.
Biles won the event at the 2016 Rio Games but pulled out of the final at the 2020 Tokyo Games after getting "the twisties" and did not get a chance to defend her title. Carey did compete in the 2020 Tokyo vault final, but missed the podium with two disappointing routines.
The women’s vault final will take place at 9:20 a.m. CT on Aug. 3 on NBC 5 and can be streamed live on Peacock.
Uneven bars final: Aug. 4
Lee was the only American woman to qualify for the uneven bars final. Typically considered one of her best events, Lee is a medal contender. At the 2020 Tokyo Games, she took home the bronze medal in the event. Leading up to the Games, Lee said making the podium at the uneven bars final is one of her major goals.
Biles missed the uneven bars finals by tenths of a point. She qualified in ninth place, meaning she is considered a “reserve athlete” for the event.
Watch the uneven bar final at 8 a.m. CT on Aug. 4 on NBC 5 or stream it live on Peacock.
Balance beam final: Aug. 5
Biles and Lee will find themselves in the same competition yet again in the balance beam final. The two have been trading off highest scoring beam routines throughout the 2024 season- and this competition is bound to be a nail-biter. Biles took home the bronze medal on the balance beam in both 2016 and 2020. Lee, on the other hand, has not yet medaled in an Olympic balance beam final.
The balance beam final begins at 5:36 a.m. CT on Aug. 5. Streaming begins on E! at 4:45 a.m. CT and at 8:30 a.m. on NBC 5.
Floor exercise final: Aug. 5
The floor exercise final will be the last event of the women’s gymnastics competition this Olympics. Biles and Chiles have both qualified.
Biles won the floor exercise final at the 2016 Games, but had to pull out of the 2020 Games final, leaving room for Carey to take home gold. Carey missed the final in this year's Olympics after an uncharacteristic fall in qualifiers. It was later revealed she had been battling an illness during the Games.
After Carey's fall, Chiles scored high enough to clinch the second spot in the final. Chiles’ Beyonce-themed floor routine has been a consistent crowd pleaser throughout the Games so far.
Watch the floor exercise final at 7:20 a.m. CT on Aug. 5. Streaming begins on E! at 4:45 a.m. CT and at 8:30 a.m. on NBC 5.
