Olympic gymnastics kicks off this weekend at Bercy Arena in Paris. Simone Biles and co. are looking sharp in training, but the balance beam is only 4 inches wide — anything can happen.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of their quest for more gold.
When does Olympic gymnastics start?
Olympic gymnastics kicks off Saturday with men’s qualification. The U.S. men’s team includes Frederick Richard, Brody Malone, Paul Juda, Asher Hong and Stephen Nedoroscik. They will seek to end a 16-year Olympic team medal drought.
Gymnastics at the Paris Olympics will air on NBC, USA Network and E! and stream on the Peacock and NBC Olympics platforms.
Key events for the U.S. men
Richard, the reigning world all-around bronze medalist, and Malone, the U.S. national champion, are Team USA’s best bets to qualify to the all-around final. Pommel horse phenom Nedoroscik will compete for a slot in that event final.
Malone, who won the high bar world title in 2022 and finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics, has the potential to make the final again. Richard could contend in several of the six individual apparatus events, including high bar and floor.
When does Simone Biles compete?
Qualification for the U.S. women’s team takes place Sunday. The U.S., as favorites for the team gold medal, will hope to qualify in first place as a team and have two all-around finalists, as well as a slew of individual event finalists.
The U.S. competes in Subdivision 2, which occurs bright and early for U.S. viewers at 5:40 a.m. ET.
Before grappling with the “twisties” in Tokyo, Biles qualified for the all-around and all four apparatus finals, a feat she is capable of repeating in Paris. She has the highest difficulty value, or scoring potential, in the all-around, floor and vault, giving her the ability to have a bobble or two and still win gold.
Make no mistake though — Biles is beatable.
If she has an off day or allows small errors to accumulate, her teammate Suni Lee and Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade are expected to be right on her heels.
Lee, who is the reigning Olympic all-around champion, is the best bar worker on the U.S. team and won a bronze medal on the event in Tokyo. Lee will aim to return to the all-around and bars podiums, and she is well-positioned to contend for a beam medal, as well.She’ll face stiff competition on bars from reigning Olympic champion Nina Derwael of Belgium, as well as rising Algerian star Kaylia Nemour. On beam, the Chinese team is exceptional as always, with Zhou Yaqin and Qiu Qiyuan leading the way in terms of scoring potential.
Jade Carey is another returning Olympian for the U.S. women, having won floor gold in Tokyo. She is a tumbling savant on that event, as well as the vault. After a fluke tripping incident at the last Olympics, Carey is raring for a return to the vault finals, as well as a chance to defend her floor title.Biles and Andrade are expected to go head to head for the vault title. Biles stuck the Yurchenko double pike vault named for her in training, and Andrade has been teasing a brand new skill, as well: a triple-twisting Yurchenko.
Tokyo team silver medalist Jordan Chiles and newcomer Hezly Rivera could sneak into a final or two if their teammates make mistakes. Only the top two gymnasts per country are eligible to continue on to each final.
How many medals can gymnasts win at the Olympics? Will Biles break any records?
On the men’s side, six apparatus medals are awarded, in addition to the team and all-around medals, for a total of eight. Women’s gymnastics has four apparatuses, plus the team and the all-around, so the most medals a gymnast like Biles could win is six.
Biles is a front-runner to medal in every event except for bars, though she could very well make the bars final. She is the reigning world champion in the all-around, team, beam and floor events. After she fell in the vault final at worlds, she won silver, while Andrade claimed the gold.
If she does what she is capable of in Paris, Biles could win five gold medals.
Winning any medals in Paris would make her the most decorated American gymnast in Olympic history. She is tied with Shannon Miller at seven Olympic medals but already leads the international medal haul if you include her 30 world championship medals.
