It’ll be a first-time Olympic occurrence on Thursday when U.S. gymnasts Simone Biles and Suni Lee, each of whom has already won an all-around gold medal, go head-to-head in the 2024 women’s all-around competition.
Biles was the all-around champion in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, while Lee succeeded her as No. 1 in the event at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
An American has won all-around gold at each of the last five Olympics, dating back to Carly Patterson at Athens in 2004. She was followed by Nastia Liukin at Beijing in 2008 and Gabby Douglas at London in 2012 before Biles and Lee took their turns.
Biles missed out on a chance to repeat in 2020 after a case of “twisties” prompted her to withdraw from several events.
Biles was the all-around leader after Sunday’s qualifying round in Paris with a combined score of 59.566 on the vault, floor, balance beam and uneven bars. Lee, meanwhile, took third with a 56.132. Brazil’s Rebecca Andrade was second Sunday at 57.700.
Andrade won silver behind Lee in the all-around event in Tokyo.
24 athletes from Sunday’s qualifying round moved on to Thursday’s event, though it’s not necessarily the top 24 scorers because each country is only allowed two participants. For…
