The Latest: Simone Biles and US compete in Olympic gymnastics women's team final

PARIS (AP) — Simone Biles leads the U.S. women into the gymnastics team final today at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Americans are heavily favored to win gold after finishing runner-up to Russia in 2021.

Competition begins at 6:15 p.m. CEST (12:15 a.m. EST) at Bercy Arena.

Here’s a look at thefive-woman U.S. Olympic gymnastics team that will vie for gold:

Simone Biles: The 27-year-old is the most decorated gymnast of all time and eyeing a return to the top of the podium after pulling out of the team final in Tokyo three years ago to focus on her mental health. Biles tweaked her left calf during qualifying on Sunday but has been entered on all four events in the team final.

Sunisa Lee: The 21-year-old is the reigning Olympic all-around champion. Her return to this stage seemed uncertain at times over the last 18 months while she battled kidney issues that made her weight fluctuate and slowed her training. She seems to be peaking at the right time, just as she did in Tokyo.

Jordan Chiles: The 23-year-old put together a steady and sometimes spectacular performance in qualifying, finishing fourth in the all-around. Rules that limit countries to entering two gymnasts per event will prevent her from competing with Biles and Lee in the all-around final. She’s up on all four events in the team final anyway as she looks to add a gold to the silver she claimed in 2021.

Jade Carey: The 24-year-old is dealing with an illness that contributed to an uncharacteristically sloppy performance on floor exercise during qualifying, scuttling her chances of defending gold on the event she won in Tokyo. Carey did make the vault final and will compete on that event in the team portion.

Hezly Rivera: The 16-year-old is easily the youngest member of the oldest team the Americans have ever sent to the Olympics. She was supposed to spend the summer getting her driving permit. Instead, she will spend it at the Olympics.

The gymnastics venue has AC. But Simone Biles’ bus doesn’t

Simone Biles got hot on the way to Bercy Arena.

On the warmest day since the start of the Paris Olympics, she posted a video of herself on a bus, apparently on her way to the competition venue. The bus had no air conditioning.

“Don’t come for me about my hair,” Biles wrote in an Instagram story. “IT WAS DONE but bus has NO AC and it’s like 9,000 degrees. Oh & a 45 minutes ride.”

Biles also took a swing at critics who have mocked her in the past for her hair.

“Next time you wanna comment on a Black girls hair. JUST DON’T,” she added.

Biles is leading the charge of older Olympics gymnasts who are redefining their sport

All but one of the last 13 Olympic champions have been teenagers.

That includes Simone Biles when she triumphed in Rio de Janeiro eight years ago. Her U.S. teammate and good friend Sunisa Lee was 18 when she edged Brazilian star Rebeca Andrade in a taut final in Tokyo in 2021.

They’re both back on what they’ve labeled a “ redemption tour.” When Biles and Lee step onto the floor at Bercy Arena on Sunday for Olympic qualifying, they’ll be joined by 2020 Olympic floor champion Jade Carey (24) and 2020 Olympic silver medalist Jordan Chiles (23) along with newcomer Hezly Rivera, at 16 by far the youngest member of the oldest team the Americans have ever sent to the Games.

Gone are the days when six-time Olympic medalist Aly Raisman was dubbed the team grandma in 2016 at all of 22, a moniker Biles jokingly admitted she now needs to apologize for using.

“Like I’m ancient now,” Biles said. “Forget grandma, we’re past that.”

▶ Read more about how age factors in to Olympics gymnastics

Jonathan Owens, Simone Biles’ husband, is taking a break from football training to cheer her on

Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens is taking a break from training camp to support his wife in the women’s team final at the 2024 Olympics.

The couple was married in the spring of 2023, and are adjusting to life in the spotlight as a married couple. Owens has been the target of criticism on social media over the last year for comments he’s made about the nature of their relationship.

Owens and Biles appeared on “The Pivot” podcast hosted by former NFL player-turned-broadcaster Ryan Clark last December.

During the show, Owens admitted he didn’t know who Biles was when the two connected on a dating app in 2020. Owens was playing for the Houston Texans at the time. Biles is a Houston native.

The two quickly hit it off and were engaged in early 2022. Owens said he believed he was “the catch” in the relationship, which kicked off a firestorm of criticism in social media circles.

▶ Read more about Jonathan Owens

Illness ended Jade Carey’s hopes for another floor exercise medal. She could still win the team gold

Jade Carey won’t get a chance to defend the floor exercise gold medal she won three years ago in Tokyo, a victory that served as a vindication for the winding path she took to the Games.

An uncharacteristically mistake-riddled routine during qualifying Sunday led Carey to finish well outside the top eight at the Paris Olympics. She acknowledged afterward she hadn’t been feeling well, not exactly an optimal way to prepare for a 45-second routine that requires strength, precision and stamina.

The 24-year-old did earn a spot in the vault final following a third-place finish behind Simone Biles and Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade.

▶Read more about Jade Carey

The French women’s gymnastics team had high expectations in Paris. It crashed down in qualifying

The French women’s dream of an Olympic medal in gymnastics ended with falls and tears.

The collective meltdown in front of a buoyant Paris crowd saw the team crashing down to earth in qualifying. The defeat was brutal, and totally unexpected, for a group made of seasoned individuals boosted by the enthusiasm of an up-and-coming teenager.

“I feel really sad,” said Melanie de Jesus dos Santos, who has been training with Simone Biles in Texas over the past two years. “I feel like everything I did the last two, three years did not work out today. I feel like I’ve worked for nothing the past years.”

France finished 11th with a total of 158.797 points, well behind Biles’ United States and outside the eight qualifying spots for the final.

▶ Read more about Olympics gymnastics qualifying

Breakfast of champions? For Biles, it’s pain au chocolat

On the morning of her first big final at the Paris Olympics, Simone Biles opted for a very French breakfast. She was treated to classic pain au chocolat, the French name for chocolate croissants. The Parisians love it, and Biles, too.

The delicacies were brought to Biles at the athletes’ village, her coach Cecile Landi said in an Instagram post.

“Everyone can call down! Freshly baked pain au chocolat were delivered to Simone this morning,” Landi wrote.

What we know about Simone Biles’ calf injury

Simone Biles dominated during qualifying with the U.S. women’s gymnastics team at the Paris Olympics on Sunday despite limping on her left leg and saying she had an issue with her calf.

U.S. coach Cecile Landi said only that Biles’ injury was minor, has been bothering her for a couple of weeks and there was no discussion of sidelining the seven-time Olympic medalist.

“I can’t express it,” Landi said. “I’m really proud of her and what she’s been through and what she’s showing the world what she’s capable of doing.”

Biles and the rest of Team USA did not speak to reporters after qualifying.

▶ Read more on Biles’ calf injury

Team USA mixed glamour and grit to surge to the lead at Olympic gymnastics qualifying

Simone Biles and the rest of the U.S. women’s gymnastics team walked onto the floor at Bercy Arena on Sunday in leotards adorned with thousands of crystals, the kind designed to attract as much attention as possible.

Don’t mistake all that glamour — both on the floor and in the stands, where Tom Cruise and Ariana Grande were among those who took in the spectacle — for a lack of grit.

The oldest team the Americans have ever brought to the Games has endured plenty through the years, from health scares to losses in their personal life. Those experiences have prepared them for whatever may come, perhaps Biles most of all.

With Biles — achy calf and all — putting up the highest score on vault and floor exercise and reigning Olympic champion Sunisa Lee looking perhaps as good as ever on uneven bars, the U.S. posted a total of 172.296, doing little to dampen the expectation that Tuesday night’s team final will be more of a coronation for a team that has called this trip to the Games part of their “Redemption Era.”

▶ Read more about the Olympics gymnastics qualifying round

How to watch’s today’s finals

Competition begins at 6:15 p.m. CEST (12:15 p.m. EST) at Bercy Arena. The event will air live on NBC and stream live on the Peacock app.

▶Read more about how to watch the 2024 Paris Olympics

Simone Biles leads the U.S. womens’ gymnastics team into final

The 27-year-old Simone Biles is in the lineup to compete in all four events of the team final despite a calf injury. Biles tweaked her left calf while warming up for floor exercise during qualifying on Sunday. She still topped the all-around with the highest scores on floor and vault.

Competition begins at 6:15 p.m. CEST (12:15 a.m. EST) at Bercy Arena. The Americans are favored to win gold after finishing runner-up to Russia in 2021.

Biles’ teammate Jordan Chiles also will compete in all four events. Chiles finished fourth in the all-around during qualifying behind Biles, Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade and 2020 Olympic champion Sunisa Lee.