What does Russian Gymnastics' absence from Paris Olympics 2024 mean for Team USA? A look at their chances of doing a clean sweep

Paris Olympics 2024 will not have any representatives from the Russian Gymnastics team after they refused to participate under a neutral flag. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had proposed to allow the athletes to participate in the Olympic Games under the conditions that they didn't support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, didn't have any connection with the army, and use a neutral flag instead of their country’s. However, none of the gymnasts accepted the conditions, thereby refusing to participate in the event.

Russia, the defending Olympic champions in both men's and women's gymnastics team competition, was already barred from the team competition after they received a ban from the International Gymnastics Federation during the qualifiers for the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. However, the ban was lifted this January, but the gymnasts weren't ready to accept the IOC's conditions.

Alongside the USA and China, Russia is among the most dominant gymnastics teams in the world and boasts several world-class athletes. But, with none of the Russian gymnasts competing at the Paris Olympics 2024, the road to gold has become relatively easier for Team USA.

Angelina Melnikova was among the biggest competitors for Simone Biles' Olympic gold medal pursuits. So were Nikita Nagorny and Averina sisters, who were capable of winning a medal at the Paris Olympics 2024. However, with none of them competing, Biles and Co.’s competition in Paris has significantly reduced.

That said, the lack of Russian representation also means that a bit of spark would be missing from the competition. Not only did the USA share a strong rivalry with them, but the Chinese and Japanese gymnasts too, had started building a rivalry.

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Can the USA women's gymnastics team do a clean sweep at the Paris Olympics 2024?

2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Gymnastics - Day 4 (Source: GETTY)

With Russia’s absence from the Paris Olympics 2024, the USA women's gymnastics team does have a chance of performing a clean sweep at the Paris Olympics 2024.

Of the six competitions at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the USA won the gold medal in four of them. Three came from Simone Biles individually and one in the team competition. Russia won one gold medal that year while the other was taken by the Netherlands.

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the USA won only two gold medals courtesy of Jade Carey and Suni Lee while they finished second behind the Russians in the team competition. USA's success at the Tokyo Olympics was without Simone Biles’ contribution, and this year, she seems to be closer to her peak form.

The USA is sending almost a similar team as that of 2020 to the Paris Olympics but as Biles recently said, they are aiming for redemption. The seven-time Olympic medalist can hope to win two to three gold medals on her own. Suni Lee will be the favorite for Balance Beam and Uneven Bars golds, while Jordan Chiles and Co. could ensure gold for the USA in the team competition.

The chances of a clean sweep remain bright. However, even if everything doesn't go right, the USA should still be able to return with three to four gold medals.