Simone Biles has another name for the U.S. gymnastics team’s participation in the Paris Games: the redemption tour. The team final on Tuesday will be an important stop.
At the Tokyo Games, the U.S. women’s team was a favorite to win, but it ended up with silver, behind Russia, after Biles withdrew from the final because of a mental block. That ended the United States’ streak of consecutive team victories at the London Games in 2012 and in Rio in 2016.
Now Biles, who is anchoring the team on three of the four events in the final, said the team was ready to return to the top.
“Our Tokyo performances weren’t the best,” she said. “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.”
And they are Olympic veterans. The three other gymnasts competing in the team final — including the defending all-around champion Sunisa Lee — are all competing at their second Summer Games.
The other two competing will be Jordan Chiles, who finished fourth in all-around qualifying on Sunday, and Jade Carey, the gold medalist on the floor exercise from Tokyo.
Once again, the team is expected to win.
Here’s what else to know:
How to watch: The team finals begin at 6:15 p.m. Paris time (12:15 p.m. Eastern) and will be shown live on N.B.C. and streamed on Peacock. A replay will be shown at 8 p.m. on N.B.C.
How it works: The team final consists of three gymnasts competing on all events — and every score counts — so there is no room for error. This format prompted U.S. team coordinators to leave out the 16-year-old Hezly Rivera, who is at her first Olympics. She did not qualify for any individual finals, so her Olympics is over unless she is called in to replace another gymnast.
Biles rebounds: Biles finished first in the all-around in team qualifying, despite dealing with pain in her left calf that her coach, Cécile Canqueteau-Landi, said had been nagging Biles for weeks. At one point, Biles was crawling along the vaulting runaway and then limped off it during qualifying. But right afterward she performed a breathtaking Yurchenko double pike, a treacherous and risky vault, proving that she was trying to push forward and accomplish what she did not do in Tokyo.
Americans dominate: The U.S. team finished more than five points ahead of the second-place Italy in team qualifying, with China and Brazil very close behind, in third and fourth.
The lineups: Chiles, Carey and Biles will compete on vault, where Biles is expected to once again perform her dangerous Yurchenko double pike vault; Chiles, Biles and Lee, an uneven bars specialist, on uneven bars; Chiles, Lee and Biles, who won bronze on the balance beam in Tokyo, on balance beam; and Lee, Chiles and Biles on floor.