MINNEAPOLIS, Min. — The U.S. Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Team will compete in the team final at 11:15 a.m. CT Tuesday at the Paris Olympics.
Team USA led the team standings after the qualifications, heading into the finals with more than a five-point lead over Italy.
China and Brazil trail closely behind Italy — all three are separated by a few tenths of points.
I had the chance to speak with Simone Biles, Suni Lee and Leanne Wong at the Olympic Trials when the gymnasts found out they were heading to Paris.
Biles is a seven-time Olympic medalist competing in her third Olympics. But this Olympics will look different for her than any of the others.
“This is definitely our redemption tour,” Biles said. “I feel like we all have more to give, and our Tokyo performances weren't the best.
"We weren't under the best circumstances either, but I feel like we have a lot of weight on our shoulders to go out there and prove that we're better athletes. We're more mature, we're smarter, we're more consistent.”
Biles' performance at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 forever changed the scope of the gymnastics world. She was battling a case of the "twisties," which is where one gets lost in the air.
The Olympian withdrew from the team final and most of the rest of the Olympics. However, she was able to compete in the beam final and won a bronze medal.
The world was (and still is) critical of Biles for what happened in Tokyo, but her decision to put herself and her mental health first ultimately paved the way for the normalization of these conversations in gymnastics and the overall sports community.
She’s long been a role model for her athletic prowess. Now, she’s also a role model for her resilience.
“We're always going to prioritize mental health, and I think that's really nice that Tokyo gave us that opportunity to open up that stage for that talk,” Biles said. “And so I think now athletes are a little bit more in tune and we trust what our gut is saying, and just taking mental health a little bit more serious.”
Biles said multiple times Paris is Team USA’s redemption tour, as the team has its eye on the gold medal for the team final.
"They want to see us fail,” she said. “They want to see the rise to success, and then as soon as you get it — and you kind of take that and run with it, and you start reigning for a really long time — they want to see the downfall, which is really unfortunate because sports haven't seen athletes like we've seen before.
"So you really have to give them their flowers in the sport because once they're gone, you're going to miss them."
One of the teammates besides Biles in Paris is Suni Lee. The three-time Olympic medalist is competing in her second Olympics.
Lee has endured countless challenges of her own, most notably when she was diagnosed with two rare forms of kidney disease in 2023.
At the time, she said her doctors told her they didn’t see a way she could ever return to gymnastics.
But with treatment and changes to her diet and workout, she was able to return to the sport. She even said she feels better now than ever before.
Lee spoke at the trials about Team USA wanting to give its all to bring home team gold.
“I’m excited to go back out there with the girls and really just see what we bring to the table,” Lee said. “I mean, I think this time around, we're so much more mature and just more grown-ups to where we know what we can do and what we can't do.
"And also just, like making sure that we take care of our bodies and our mental health first because it is going to be a long couple of weeks. So having them is going to help me a lot.”
Finally, I spoke with Leanne Wong and her family multiple times throughout the Olympic Trials. The Overland Park native was selected as an alternate for Team USA at the Paris Olympics.
She said something that mattered to her was a conversation with Biles, who reminded her that her role as the alternate was one of the most important.
Biles told Wong that training with the ability to step in at any moment for any athlete is unmatched.
“I'm just super proud to be where I am now,” Wong said. “I mean, I went on a journey that no one has really been on, going from college gymnastics right into the season, and it was super quick. I really didn't know what to expect. But I'm really proud of where I am right now.”
You can watch the Olympics on KSHB 41 through Aug. 11.
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