10 Moments in Olympic Women's Gymnastics That Stunned the World ft. Simone Biles, Nastia Liukin

Simone Biles is going for her third and probably final attempt at Olympic glory at the Paris Olympics. For the past 8 years, this 27-year-old gymnast has brought artistic gymnastics, similar to how Lewis Hamilton did with Formula 1, Lionel Messi did with soccer, or Usain Bolt did with athletics.

However, Biles's performance at the Rio Games was not the only time the USA has outshone its competitors in female artistic gymnastics. Here are some priceless moments when female gymnasts from the USA shone brightest of all:

10 Moments in Olympic Women's Gymnastics That Stunned the World ft. Simone Biles, Nastia Liukin:

#10) Sunisa Lee's comeback gold at the Tokyo Olympics:

Sunisa Lee competing at the Tokyo Olympics [Image Source: Getty]

Accompanying Simone Biles at the Paris Olympics will be gymnasts like Sunisa Lee and Jade Carey. Lee had previously represented the American team at the Tokyo Olympics, where she won a gold medal in the individual all around event, a silver medal in the team event, and a bronze medal in the uneven bars.

However, her journey has not been all plain sailing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lee suffered multiple injuries, including a fracture in the left foot, and an injury in her Achilles tendon. However, Lee exhibited perseverance and dedication to her craft, making a strong comeback at the Tokyo Olympics. She is expected to repeat the same heroics at the 2024 Olympics.

#9) Simone Biles' "dazzling debut" at Rio Olympics:

Simone Biles during the vault medal ceremony at Rio Olympics [Image Source: Getty]

The 2016 Rio Games saw the rise of Simone Biles, the next gymnastics legend from the USA after Mary Lou Retton and Shannon Miller. Biles was already the world champion in artistic gymnastics for 3 consecutive editions by then, in 2013, 2014, and 2015.

At the Rio Olympics, Biles outshone all others to win 4 gold medals, the most in a single Olympics, after Larisa Latynina of USSR and Vera Caslavska of Czechoslovakia. She won the gold medals in team all-around, balance beam, vault, and floor exercise. With a silver and a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, Simone Biles is the joint top-most decorated female American gymnast along with Shannon Miller, both with a total of 7 medals each.

#8) Gabby Douglas's historic 'golden double' at London 2012:

Gabby Douglas performing at the London Olympics [Image Source: Getty]

Had it not been for an unfortunate injury, Gabby Douglas, and not Simone Biles, would have been the oldest American gymnast to participate at the Summer Olympics since Helsinki 1952.

At the London Olympics, Douglas made an extremely successful debut, winning the team all-around as well as the individual all-around event, becoming the first woman of color to achieve this distinction, and also the first ever American gymnast to win both segments of the all-around event. She later went on to win her 3rd gold medal in the team all-around event at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

#7) The vault of a lifetime by McKayla Maroney:

McKayla Maroney [C] with the victorious American team at London Olympics 2012

McKayla Maroney may not be a record-breaker like Simone Biles. However, what she did at the London Olympics in 2012 was nothing short of historical. Maroney was part of the all-around team that changed their name from 'The Fab Five' to 'The Fierce Five'.

During training, McKayla Maroney injured her toe. It was later revealed that like Kerri Strug, Maroney was forced to compete with a broken right foot. Despite that, she performed the Amanar move in the vault round of the team all-around event, and her performance was awarded the highest score in the finals. The USA went on to win the gold medal, their first gold in this event after the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.

#6) Nastia Liukin's 'open ended' victory:

Nastia Liukin with her all around gold medal from Beijing Olympics [Image Source: Getty]

Not everyone gets a comeback like Nastia Liukin. An ankle injury followed by surgery had threatened to derail her career, but she came back strongly to make it in time for Beijing Olympics 2008.

Nastia Liukin didn't have a great routine in the uneven bars section but managed to qualify for the all-around finals. However, in the finals, Liukin surprised everyone, as she went on to win the event. Nastia Liukin became only the third American female gymnast after Mary Lou Retton and Carly Patterson to win this event.

Liukin's victory was made even more special by the fact that the 'open ended' scoring system had been recently introduced, with an added focus on difficulty along with execution. Liukin's victory in the event thus was a mark of her ability to combine artistry with execution of challenging skills.

#5) Dominique Dawes' historic win:

Dominique Dawes in action [Image Source: Getty]

An important part of the 'Magnificent Seven', Dominique Dawes has some unique records to her name.

Dawes became the first African-American gymnast to win an individual medal in artistic gymnastics at the Olympic Games. Dawes won a bronze medal in the floor exercise event at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, apart from contributing to the historic team all-around gold medal.

Dominique Dawes is also one of only three gymnasts, alongside Ludmilla Tourischeva of the Soviet Union and Svetlana Khorkina of Russia, who have won medals as a part of the team all-around event at three consecutive Olympics.

#4) Kerri Strug's vault 'against all odds':

Kerri Strug [2nd from Right] with the 'Magnificent Seven'

Kerri Strug was part of the 'Magnificent Seven', the USA gymnastics team at the Atlanta Olympics.

Strug was a huge risk-taker. Despite breaking her ankle during the vault event at the Atlanta Olympics, she went on to complete her part for the team all-around event, leading to a historic gold medal. Strug had braved it all to make the USA proud at the Olympics.

#3) Shannon Miller and 'The Magnificent Seven':

Shannon Miller in action [Image Source: Getty]

Like the 'Dream Team' basketball team of Barcelona 1992, the USA had their 'Magnificent Seven' in gymnastics at the Atlanta Olympics. The team was led by Amanda Kathleen Borden, but the real deal was Shannon Miller.

Shannon had already won two silver medals at the Barcelona Olympics, in the all-around and balance beam events. However, at the Atlanta Olympics, Miller led the team to a historic gold in the team all-around, as well as another gold medal in the balance beam event. Shannon Miller won a total of 5 medals at Atlanta, a record equaled only by the likes of Nastia Liukin and Simone Biles.

#2) The rise of Mary Lou Retton:

Mary Lou Retton congratulated by teammates at Los Angeles Olympics 1984 [Image Source: Getty]

At the Los Angeles Olympics held in 1984, there was fierce competition in the individual all-around event. On one side was Ecaterina Szabo from Romania, who was the favorite. On the other was Mary Lou Retton, a fan of Nadia Comaneci, who had somehow made it to the Games despite a career-threatening knee injury.

Before the last two events in the individual all-around, Retton was 0.15 points behind Szabo. However, she scored perfect 10s in both events and overcame Szabo to become the first individual Olympic gold medalist for the USA in this event. Retton also won two silver and two bronze medals to become one of the most decorated gymnasts from the USA.

#1) Julianne McNamara, the trendsetter:

Julianne McNamara in action [Image Source: Getty]

However, Mary Lou Retton was not the only hero at the Los Angeles 1984 Games. It was Julianne McNamara who had started the trend of the USA dominating the female artistic gymnastics at every Olympics.

She was the joint gold medalist in the uneven bars event alongside Ma Yanhong. Overall, Julianne McNamara won 3 medals, while Retton got 5 medals, something the USA had never achieved before in female Olympic gymnastics.