ROC upsets USA in gymnastics team finals after Simone Biles exits

The women’s gymnastics team final delivered a drama-filled upset.

After Simone Biles exited the competition following her first apparatus on vault, Sunisa Lee, Grace McCallum and the last-minute substitution Jordan Chiles stepped up in a big way to lead Team USA to a silver medal on Tuesday.

The Russian Olympic Committee earned the gold medal, beating out the Americans by more than three points.

The U.S. women's gymnastics team earns silver at the #TokyoOlympics. 🥈 pic.twitter.com/2iyll53p0w

— #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) July 27, 2021

While Team USA went into the final as the gold-medal favorite, the meet took a surprising turn when Biles looked shaken up before withdrawing from the event entirely.

The U.S. excelled on the bars with three hit routines. McCallum nearly stuck her dismount, Chiles turned in her own clean performance and Lee delivered a massive 15.400.

But overcoming the ROC’s lead proved to be too challenging a task for Team USA without the greatest gymnast of all time.

The U.S. outscored the ROC 41.232 to 39.532 on balance beam but still trailed by 0.8 going into the fourth and final event.

McCallum and Lee each had strong performances in the floor event, but after Chiles fell during her sequence and suffered a points deduction, the team was unable to make up the deficit and the gold was out of reach.

15.400. UNEVEN BARS. SUNI LEE. 😳 #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/vRlXCmbouc

— Team USA (@TeamUSA) July 27, 2021

It was the first time since 2008 that the U.S. did not win gold in the team event. The ROC’s gold medal was its first after winning silver in 2016 and 2012.

Simone Biles and the USA's Women's Gymnastics team congratulating the Russians who won gold.

Class acts. #TokyoOlympics #TeamUSA pic.twitter.com/QjznRKTB0h

— Lukas Weese (@Weesesports) July 27, 2021