Biles and Chiles Lead U.S. Gymnastics Team in Finals Amid Lineup Changes

Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles are set to spearhead the United States women's gymnastics team in the upcoming team final, with both athletes competing in all four events. This decision comes after a surprising reshuffle in the lineup, which sees Sunisa Lee stepping in for reigning Olympic champion Jade Carey on the floor exercise. Sixteen-year-old Hezly Rivera, who struggled during her Olympic debut, will not participate in the final. Prior to the qualifications, there were discussions about Biles potentially sitting out some events to manage her busy schedule, which includes four individual finals. Despite a calf injury that was aggravated during qualifications, Biles demonstrated resilience, scoring 14.433 on the uneven bars, significantly outperforming Rivera's 13.900. This performance led to the decision to include Biles in the bars rotation for the final. Carey faced challenges during qualifications, scoring 10.633 on the floor due to an uncharacteristic error, which eliminated her from the individual floor final. However, she secured her place in the vault lineup, where she aims for a medal after a previous Olympic setback. The U.S. team posted an impressive score of 172.296 in qualifications, comfortably advancing to the final, where they will compete against Italy, starting on vault and concluding on floor. All five athletes from the podium-finishing teams will receive medals, adding to the stakes of the competition as Team USA looks to maintain its dominance in gymnastics.