The USA women's gymnastics team dazzled in the artistic gymnastics team final on Tuesday, taking home gold in the event for the first time since 2016. But before the excitement of victory and the elation of celebrating the achievement with teammates, there was relief.
Relief that eight-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles had put the twisties, a mental block that afflicted her badly enough to force her withdrawal from the Tokyo Olympics, behind her for good.
Speaking to reporters after the gold medal victory, Biles said she felt "a lot of relief" about successfully sticking the landing on her vault, with teammate Jordan Chiles adding that it was a "hallelujah" moment for the team.
"After I finished vault, I was really like 'whew,' because there were no flashbacks or anything," Biles told The Associated Press. "But I did feel a lot of relief. And, as soon as I landed, I was like, 'Oh yeah, definitely we're going to do this.' Yeah, that's definitely what I was thinking."
Biles's strong 14.9 score on the vault was preceded by excellent vaults by both Chiles, 14.4 and Carey, 14.8, which set the stage for the most decorated American women's gymnast in history.
Chiles, who authored her own Olympic moment with a memorable Floor routine later in the competition, also felt relief when she saw Biles complete the Cheng routine on the vault.
"Yo, hallelujah. No flashbacks, no nothing. Because I was like, 'Oh, okay, I need her to just do her normal.' So me jumping up and down was just relief."
Thanks to the strong performances on the vault, Sunisa Lee's—and Biles's—standout Balance Beam and Uneven Bars efforts and Chiles's Floor Routine, Team USA was all but assured a gold when Biles took center stage for her Floor routine.
Despite stepping out of bounds during the routine, Biles earned a 14.6 score, clinching the gold medal for Team USA—and cementing her status as the greatest American women's gymnast.
With the twisties firmly in the rearview, there's no telling what else Biles could accomplish in Paris.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles Were Relieved There Were No 'Flashbacks' to the Twisties .
