The Final Five Team Dominates Rio Olympics

Courtesy of Access Hollywood

Clara Lacey '17, Editor-in-Chief

After the Fierce Five gymnastics team excelled at the 2012 London Olympics, there was a lot of pressure on the 2016 U.S. women’s gymnastics team as they competed in this year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. However, this team, comprised of Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas, Madison Kocian, Laurie Hernandez, and Simone Biles, did not disappoint. In the main event of the all-around team final, which involves the athletes from each team competing on the vault, uneven bars, beam, and floor, the U.S. team took gold with a score of 184.897. This was an impressive feat considering that the second place Russian team and third place Japan team each had scores about 8 points below the U.S. team’s. Here’s a rundown of each girl’s individual success throughout the games:

Aly Raisman (22 years old):

After winning gold medals in the team and floor events as well as a bronze on the beam at London in 2012, Raisman returned to the Olympics with a vengeance and determination to become the first American gymnast to win back-to-back team gold medals. Not only did she achieve this, but she also won two silver medals for the floor exercise and the individual all-around. Previously this summer, Raisman also starred on the Lifetime reality show Gold Medal Families showcasing her intense dedication and the sacrifices of her parents and younger siblings, who were often caught nervously covering their eyes by the camera during her events.

Courtesy of Getty Images
Courtesy of Getty Images

Madison Kocian (19 years old):

The Texas native was a newcomer to the Olympics this year, but she played a vital role on Team USA. Her skills on the uneven bars helped the team win gold and even earned her an individual silver medal. Kocian is also the only member of the Final Five who is still eligible to compete in college and is committed to attend UCLA in 2016.

Courtesy of E!
Courtesy of E!

Gabby Douglas (20 years old):

Douglas was a shining member of the Fierce Five last Olympics as she made Olympics history as the first American gymnast to win a gold medal in the individual all-around and team events in the same games, as well as the first African American woman to win gold in the individual-all around. Her success brought her fame, glory, and multiple programs about her life (Lifetime’s The Gabby Douglas Story and reality series Douglas Family Gold). However, her previous success also brought her intense pressure as she entered this year’s Olympic Games with high expectations of her. Douglas placed 3rd in the qualifier for the individual all-around behind Biles and Raisman, but she was unable to advance because of the pesky rule that only allows two athletes from each team to compete in the individual all-around event. In the end, she won no individual medals but still managed to become the center of controversy as viewers criticized her attitude as “disrespectful” and “unpatriotic” during the team medal ceremony after she did not place her hand over her heart.

Courtesy of USA Today Sports
Courtesy of USA Today Sports

Laurie Hernandez (16 years old):

As the youngest member of the U.S. gymnastics team and one of the youngest athletes of the whole U.S. Olympics Team, Hernandez has brought a revitalized expressiveness to the sport, shown especially in the floor exercises.Her unique artistic energy has even earned her nicknames like the “Human emoji” and “baby Shakira.” She excelled especially on the beam, where she took silver and placed even higher than her superstar teammate Simone Biles. Hernandez, whose grandparents are Puerto Rican immigrants, is the first American born Hispanic athlete on the U.S. gymnastics Olympic team since Tracee Talavera in 1984. Her contagious enthusiasm and smile has played a role in inspiring her teammates and even landed her a gig as the new ambassador of Crest and Orgullosa (P&G’s online Latina community).

Courtesy of NBC Olympics
Courtesy of NBC Olympics

Simone Biles (19 years old):

Though Biles is now considered the greatest gymnast in the world, she claims she could not reach the success she is at now without her loving parents. After her biological mother who struggled with substance abuse signed away parental rights to Simone and her siblings, Biles’ maternal grandparents adopted the children and have cared for Biles and her gymnastic hopes ever since. Although this is her first Olympics Games, Biles has achieved a new level of superstardom and has already made history. With nineteen total Olympic and World Championship medals, Biles has broken the record as the most decorated American gymnast. She also has set a new record for most gold medals won for American women’s gymnastics at a single Olympics, with a total of four from the team, the vault, the floor, and the coveted individual all-around. Yet the champion’s favorite moment of the Olympics might not be any of her athletic accomplishments after all: soon after she proclaimed her fangirl love for Zac Efron, he traveled all the way to Rio to meet the athlete and make teenage dreams come true.

Courtesy of Getty Images
Courtesy of Getty Images

As the U.S. gymnastics team grew in fame and popularity, the world speculated and badgered the girls about what their name would be, in tradition with previous Olympic teams like the Magnificent Seven and the Fierce Five. However, the team waited until they were sure of their victory in the all-around to announce their official moniker. After Simon Biles scored a 15.8 on her floor exercise, which confirmed the team’s gold medal, the girls gathered together and shouted “Final Five!”

Courtesy of LA Times
Courtesy of LA Times

This name references the fact that this Olympics team will be the last team of five, since the rules for the Tokyo Olympics call for a team of only four girls. It also pays tribute to their legendary coach Martha Karolyi, who is retiring after leading U.S. women’s gymnastics for fifteen years as national-team coordinator. Others have also guessed that the name honors the gymnasts themselves, in that they “finally” have lived up to the hype that their team has received and earned their legacy as one of the greatest gymnastic teams in Olympic history.