Sunisa Lee stepped forward to win the Olympic Women’s Gymnastics All-Around in the absence of Biles | Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

Therefore, after Byers withdrew from the all-around competition, as the rest of the world flocked to the arena, the only question that needs to be answered is how the top gymnasts will deal with this new experience of winning the gold medal. At your fingertips.

In such mental sports, tension and mistakes are completely understandable. On the contrary, every contender for the most obvious medal went to great lengths to win the gold medal for himself. The four highest qualifiers behind Byers were the highest four of the night, and they did not fall in 16 stress training sessions. When the cards fell, Sunisa Lee of the United States fixed her life on the floor and marked herself as the all-around Olympic champion.

She defeated Rebeca Andrade of Brazil (the latter won the silver medal at 57.298) and Angelina Melnikova of the Russian Olympic Committee (won the bronze medal at 57.199) with a score of 57.433 — -Three huge scores. At the same time, Jessica Gadirova became the first British woman to be ranked in the top 10, ranking 10th, and her twin sister Jennifer (Jennifer) was ranked 13th.

The 18-year-old Li embarked on a unique path and became an all-around Olympic champion. She became the first Hmong American to be selected as an Olympian. Her journey to Tokyo was full of tragedy and struggle; her father fell from a ladder before the 2019 US National Championship and was paralyzed from the chest down. She lost an aunt and uncle due to Covid-19. She suffered an ankle injury and performed most of the time before the Olympics. Her perseverance and motivation keep her moving forward.

Both were very active throughout the spectacular finals. Four leading gymnasts jumped into the arena, determined to prove their influence immediately. With her relatively weak equipment, Lee opened the final by insisting on her double twist Yurchenko vault with a score of 14.600. Andrade is one of the best vaulting athletes in the world, and his response was to score 15.300 points in a huge, difficult vault. Russians Melnikova and Vladislava Urazova rely on their two sturdy double-twisted Yurchenko vaults to maintain close contact with their opponents.

This is how this tit-for-tat final continued. Andrade completed her complete difficult horizontal bar routine, followed by Lee to complete the world’s most difficult uneven bar routine, which contains a complex maze. At the same time, Melnikova and Urazova won the third and fourth highest points in the finals respectively.

The balance beam often exposes nerves and separates the champions, but they refuse to fall one by one. In her best work, the 16-year-old Urazova scored a huge 14.200 points, and the others followed in turn, smoothing out several of their tentative moments as they stayed firmly on the crossbar.

It all boils down to floor exercises, and small details will eventually separate them. Urazova’s routine is not difficult enough. Melnikova gave up an important tenth in the spin. Andrade only needs to match her qualifying score to win, out of bounds twice. Li exerted her best ability, completed the landing effortlessly and ended with a score of 13.700, almost three-tenths higher than qualifying. This is enough.

This will be remembered as Li’s night, but in fact it is a victory for everyone. Andrade, 22, has long been one of the most talented gymnasts in the world. However, in her six-year senior career, she tore the ACL three times, and her potential was constantly suppressed. The last time she did this was before the 2019 World Championships. She only qualified for the Olympic Games last month. Finally, she has the preparation and platform to show her talents in the finals.

The bronze medalist Melnikova has her own story. Five years ago, when she was only 16 years old, she was not ready for the Olympics. She retired in qualifying, ranked 22nd, and was notorious for being mentally weak early in her career. Over the years, her growth has been a joy. In Tokyo, she led the young Russian team to defeat the American team with Byers in a qualifying match, and then they repeated this technique in the team final. Now she has won a personal medal herself.

When the gymnasts passed their four works, Ariake gymnastics The center was crowded with other gymnasts and representatives from every country, but overall it was quiet. Most people cheer only when their compatriots are present.

But on the right hand side of the arena, the loudest voice was a familiar voice. When she was sitting next to Jordan Chilis and McKayla Skinner, Byers served her two teammates and other friendly gymnasts from different countries (including Andrade and Melnikova). ) Shout loudly, cheer them loudly. Whether Byers will participate in the competition again remains to be seen, but this field has only improved over the years. This evening also reminded them how worthwhile.