After finishing first in the 2012 Summer Olympics, the U.S. women’s Olympic team is back and just as dominant as ever. The U.S. has an all-star women’s team, which includes breakout star of the 2012 London Olympics, Gabby Douglas, Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, Madison Kocian, and newcomer 16-year-old Laurie Hernandez.
Biles is in the lead in the women’s vault, Douglas and Kocian are in the top three for the uneven bars, Simone and Hernandez are number one and three, respectively, on the balance beam, and Biles, Raisman and Hernandez are in the top four for the floor routine.
Competition for the women’s team and individual all-around gymnastics medal will continue today and thursday. The Women’s team all-around final will take place at 3:00 pm EST today and the individual all-around final is at 3:00pm on the 11th.
The U.S. has the lead by over ten points going into the team all-around competition. They are followed by China in second place, Russia in third, Great Britain in fourth, Brazil in fifth, and Germany in sixth.
Biles is first in the individual all-around with 62.366 points, followed by Raisman with 60.607 points. Despite leading runner up, Brazilian Rebeca Andrade by over one point, Douglas will not continue on to the individual all-around final based on the rule that only two athletes from each country can advance to the final. After the heartbreaking ruling, all pressure lies with Biles and Raisman.
Even without the individual gold medal she is almost certain to win in Rio, Biles is already the most decorated female gymnast in history and the three-time world champion in the women’s all-around event. She hasn’t lost a competition since 2013 and isn’t likely to start losing any time soon.
She also has the chance to make Olympics history: Biles could become the most decorated American gymnast of all time if she wins three Olympic gold medals. Her coronation seems likely, as she is the favorite to win gold in all five of her events in Rio.
Hernandez–also new to the Olympic Games– has already earned her stripes in junior national competitions. She went undefeated in junior all-arounds in 2015, winning four straight gold medals and the junior all-around title at the national championships.
Of course, we can’t forget powerhouse Aly Raisman. Her squirmy parents may be getting a lot of attention right now, but the 22-year-old Team USA captain deserves her own time in the spotlight.
Overshadowed in 2012 by teammate Douglas, Raisman was the most decorated American gymnast at the London Olympics, winning gold medals in the team and floor competitions and a bronze medal on the balance beam.
Although they have yet to reveal their team name, Douglas, Biles, Raisman, Hernandez, and Kocian are almost certainly going to join ranks with the two most famous gold-medal American Olympic women’s gymnastics teams: the 1996 Magnificent Seven and the 2012 Fierce Five.
Yet some big questions remain:
Can Hernandez handle Olympic pressure? Will Simone Biles make Olympic history? What will the women’s team nickname be?
The complete women’s gymnastics schedule can be found here.
How to Live Stream the USA Women’s Gymnastics Competition:
Watch the women’s team all-around final at 3:00 pm today and the individual all-around final at 3:00pm on the 11th.
You can also tune in on Sunday, August 14th to watch the women’s vault final (1:46 pm EST) and uneven bars final (3:20 pm EST). Monday's program will include the women's beam final at 2:46 pm EST. Unfortuntely, you'll have to wait until Tuesday, August 16th at 1:47 pm EST to see if Raisman, Biles, and Hernandez can sweep the gold, silver, and bronze medals in the floor exercise finals.
NBCUniversal’s networks and digital platforms will be showing nearly 7,000 hours of programing over 19 days during the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app will also live stream coverage of the Games for pay TV subscribers via TV Everywhere. You can download the NBC Sports app to your Android TV, Apple TV, Xbox or Roku or use the iOS, Android or Windows Phone apps.
You can also live stream Olympic matches from NBC here.