Team USA: U.S. Women’s Gymnastics Team

The trouble started early. A step out of bounds on floor exercise here. An extra hop on vault there.

Over the course of two hours Sunday, the mistakes kept piling up, chipping away at the aura USA Gymnastics has built over the past decade. Not even the greatest of all time was immune to the realities of a sport where perfection is unattainable.

For 11 years, the Americans flirted with it, at least from a competitive standpoint, flying all over the globe, then flying back home with their suitcases stuffed with gold.



It still might happen at the Tokyo Olympics. But for the first time in a long time, it appears it won't happen without a fight.

The Russian Olympic Committee team pulled off a stunner in qualifying, posting a top score of 171.629, more than a full point ahead of the U.S. total of 170.562.

While reigning Olympic champion Simone Biles topped the all-around and teammate Sunisa Lee came in second, the Americans found themselves looking up at another name on the scoreboard in the team standings for the first time since the 2010 world championships.

"This was not the finals," U.S. high-performance director Tom Forster said. "This was getting into the finals. So this might be a great awakening for us and we'll take advantage of it."



Forster raised eyebrows following Olympic Trials last month when he said taking the top four finishers in the all-around in rank over a squad that could potentially score a bit higher by taking a specialist or two didn't matter. He reasoned that sacrificing a tenth or two here or there wasn't going to matter based on the history of blowout wins by the Americans at world championships since he took over in 2018.

"We thought it was a good order, and I still feel good about it," Forster said, who later added, "It will all work out."

It always has since the 2011 world championships. Everything will be reset for the finals, when the format changes to three-up/three-count. The pressure will be greater. And the Americans have found a way to thrive under it.

Inside a largely empty Ariake Gymnastics Center, they finally faltered -- at least by the program's remarkable standards.

Not even Biles was immune.



While Biles topped the all-around with a total of 57.731 and advanced to the finals on multiple events, it didn't come easy. She stepped all the way off the mat following a tumbling pass on her floor exercise, then basically did the same on vault. She responded with a solid set on uneven bars, but a spectacular beam routine ended with her taking three major steps backward following her dismount, something Forster said he's never seen her do.

Biles, 24, who came to Japan as the face of the U.S. Olympic movement and possibly the Games themselves, saluted the judges then walked off the podium with a smile that looked like a combination of relief, sarcasm and frustration.