Sunisa Leejust flipped and tumbled her way to Olympic success.
Team USA gymnasts Lee andJade Careyfinished the women’s gymnastics individual all-around in first and eighth place, respectively on Thursday at the Ariake Gymnastics Center.
Lee ended the competition with 57.433, just ahead of silver medalist Rebeca Andrade of Brazil’s 57.298, and the Russian Olympic Committee’s Angelina Melnikova, who finished with 57.199.
With Lee’s win, the U.S. has now also won five straight women’s all-around golds, starting with Carly Patterson in 2004.
Sunisa Lee.
Lee, an 18-year-old from Minnesota, earned her spot in the individual all-around competition after her standout performance during the qualifiers, which she followed up in the team final with a score of 15.400 on the uneven bars, performing a routine with the highest difficulty score in the world.
Earlier this year, Lee told PEOPLE that being an Olympian means “the world for me,” adding “I want to do it for my family and coaches obviously, but I also want to do it for myself. I’ve just been through so much.”
Carey had placed in ninth during the qualifiers last week, but after fellow Team USA member Simone Biles dropped out of the individual event — for which only two athletes from each country were permitted to participate — she moved into the empty spot.
In Tokyo, countries were able to compete with four team members and two individual spots — a change from the five team spots of years past.
Jade Carey.
The four U.S. gymnastics team members — Lee, Biles, Jordan Chiles and Grace McCallum — earned a silver medal in the team all-around. Biles dropped out of the event after a shaky vault landing, citing her mental health, but later praised her teammates for their second-place victory.
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She was in the stands during Thursday’s competition, cheering her teammates throughout.
To learn more about Team USA, visitTeamUSA.org. Watch the Tokyo Olympics now on NBC.
source: people.com
