TOKYO — Simone Biles and the U.S. women looked far from the golden juggernaut they’ve been advertised to be.
The Americans were second to Russia in qualifying Sunday, the first time since the 2010 world championships that they’ve failed to finish first in either qualifying or team finals at worlds or the Olympics. Scoring starts over in Tuesday’s team finals, but another performance like this and the women will be looking at one of the most epic upsets in Olympic history.
The U.S. women came to Tokyo so heavily favored to win their third consecutive Olympic gold the joke was that they’d have to miss the bus not to win. But whether it was buying into their own hype or just an off day the likes of which hasn’t been seen in more than a decade, the Americans had none of the efficient excellence that has become their trademark.
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