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Simone Biles advances to all six gymnastics finals at Tokyo Olympics

Simone Biles advances to all six gymnastics finals at Tokyo Olympics
Posted at 8:21 AM, Jul 25, 2021
and last updated 2021-07-25 19:25:13-04

It wasn't perfect, but the GOAT got it done. 

Simone Biles is set to compete in all six finals -- team, individual all-around, floor exercise, beam, uneven bars and vault -- at the Tokyo Olympics despite an uncharacteristically shaky performance from most of the United States women's team during qualifications. She'll be the first woman to compete in all six artistic gymnastics finals at one Olympics since Shannon Miller and Lavinia Milosovici did so in 1992. Biles competed in five finals at the Rio Olympics, missing out on uneven bars. 

Biles had the highest scores on vault (15.183), took second on floor, was seventh on beam, and snuck into the uneven bars final out of tenth place thanks to the two-per-country rule, which eliminated two Russian gymnasts from contention. She put together the highest all-around score on the day at 57.731.

Suni Lee will also compete in the all-around final after finishing third overall, as well as the balance beam and uneven bars finals. Jade Carey -- competing as an individual specialist -- is set to compete in the floor and vault finals and finished ninth overall in the all-around standings. MyKayla Skinner, the other American specialist, finished as high as fourth on vault but did not advance to the final because of the two-per-country rule.

SEE MORE: Team USA shaky during women's gymnastics qualification

As a team, the U.S. finished in second, over a point behind the Russian squad. It marks the first time since 2010 that the U.S. has not finished first in qualifications at a major international competition. That year was also the last time the U.S. did not win a team gold at the world championships or Olympics.

Athletes from the Russian Olympic Committee had a big day on the uneven bars, taking the No. 3 through 6 spots. The team also had the No. 4, 5 and 6 qualifiers for the all-around contest in Angelina Melnikova, Vladislava Urazova and Viktoriia Listunova (though only the first two can advance).

China posted the No. 3 team score that included a 1-2 finish from Guan Chenchen (14.933) and Tang Xijing (14.333) on the balance beam.

Belgium's Nina Derwael had the highest bars score at 15.366 and Italy's Vanessa Ferrari had the highest floor score at 14.166.