Dominant. Peerless. Golden.
The U.S. women’s gymnastics team gave retiring national team coordinator Martha Karolyi a fitting send off in the Olympic finals on Tuesday night, putting on a two-hour display of precision and class. Their score of 184.897 was more than eight points points clear of silver medalist Russia, a blowout that Michael Jordan’s “Dream Team” should envy.
The Americans’ second straight Olympic team triumph—and third overall—was never in doubt. From the second Laurie Hernandez drilled her opening vault to Simone Biles’ boundary-pushing floor exercise to end it, the U.S. put on an exhibition that showed how far the divide between themselves and everyone else has become.
