As the Olympics continue, the United States continues to dominate the medal count. Many of these medals have come from just five girls on the US Women’s Gymnastics Team. Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Laurie Hernandez, Madison Kocian, and Aly Raisman make up this year’s team, and following their win in the Team Final dubbed themselves the Final Five. While these girls are excellent public figures and have many admirable qualities, these are my top five reasons that they are my favorite athletes competing in the Rio Games.
1. Their friendship
This team of five girls seems to be very close. All of the girls have Instagram accounts, and all of them have posted not only pictures of them with their Team Final gold medals, but also of the five of the training together and even relaxing together. In interviews, the girls are comfortable around one another and share inside jokes. Their comradery shows that while there will be times that the girls are competing against one another, in the end, they are a team.
2. The meaning behind their name
The girls have named themselves the Final Five, and have cited two reasons for their choice. First, this year is the last year in which the team will have five members. New rules for the Olympics in Tokyo in 2020 have the teams only having five members. However, this is the also the last year that coach Marta Karolyi who took over coaching the Women’s National Team in 2001. Much of the recent success of the United States gymnasts has been accredited to her and her managing style.
3. Gabby Douglas’s composure
At the 2012 Olympics in London, Jordyn Wieber was seen sobbing as she found out that she had not made it back for the Individual All-Around Finals. That year the two United States gymnasts that went on were Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas who would go on to win the gold medal in the event. Four years later, Gabby goes through the qualifications to get the chance to defend her medal. Despite earning the third highest score in the qualifications, she was unable to move on to the final because of a rule that says only two gymnasts from one nation may compete in the final. Simone Biles and Aly Raisman had received spots one and two in the qualification round so they went on to compete. Unlike, Jordyn Wieber, Gabby handled this with grace even though she was most likely heartbroken. She also cheered on both of her teammates in the All-Around Final.
4. Aly and Simone’s shared success in the individual all-around final
It seemed that it was almost a guarantee that Simone Biles would win the gold medal in the Individual All-Around. What was less of a guarantee was that Aly Raisman would earn a medal after her disappointing fourth-place finish in London. Following her final floor routine that ensured that Aly would receive a medal, she took a minute to wave to the audience and cried because she was so happy. After Simone Biles received the score for her floor routine that promised her gold, she also began to cry. The gold medalist stood up on a platform waving at the audience and then turned to Aly and motioned for her to come up as well. Aly receiving the silver medal was probably as big of an accomplishment to her as Simone winning the gold, but instead of basking in their glory alone the girls continued to hug and smile. It was obvious that they were both very happy for one another.
5. Their athletic ability
The Final Five are five amazing athletes. Simone Biles has won the past three World Championships and is beginning to be considered as one of the greatest gymnasts of all time. She has unmatched power in her tumbling, and nearly perfect execution in every routine she performs. However, the team has more than just one good gymnast. Gabby Douglas was already widely known as being an incredible gymnast. Aly Raisman came back and is competing as strong as ever despite being 22, which is quite old for a gymnast. Laurie Hernandez’s performance has proven her to be one of gymnastics’ upcoming stars. Finally, Madison Kocian’s bars routines are what make the team complete. These five girls are incredible athletes and act as role models for girls across the nation.
