Nothing was stopping Simone Biles, USA women’s gymnastics team this time

What it took to assemble Team USA’s medal perch Tuesday night needed little effort and minimal time. Not at all reflective of the journeys for the women who would soon step on top of that platform — after extreme hardship — and shine.

When the Americans outclassed all comers, scoring 171.296 points and soaring in front of a star-studded and sellout crowd that redecorated a Parisian arena in stars and stripes, Simone Biles was the first to receive a gold medal. Earlier in the day, she had spent some time with her therapist. She does this now — checking in on her mental state and freely sharing it with the world — ever since a vault in Tokyo ruined her last quest for gold. The story of Biles stepping away because of the “twisties” has been well documented over the past three years, but Jade Carey, the next gymnast to have gold draped around her neck, also has experienced that frightening feeling.

There have been times when Carey has known exactly how to stick those difficult tumbling passes, yet her body wouldn’t cooperate. She has endured injuries that felt too difficult to manage. Her month leading into 2023 U.S. championships was “pretty challenging.” Then, after a trying year, still giving her all to a sport that takes so much out of its most devoted followers, Carey admitted to having thoughts of quitting.

Sunisa Lee, the Olympic all-around champion in 2021, almost didn’t have a choice. Health issues nearly forced her into retirement. Last year, Lee was diagnosed with two kidney diseases. Lee had to step away from college gymnastics, and her career seemed to be in peril. But Tuesday night as teammate Jordan Chiles helped adjust the Paris medal ribbon around Lee’s neck, her comeback story to elite gymnastics could not have been scripted better — with the former champion beaming in gold again.

“This team has definitely been through a lot,” Lee said. “It’s just different this time around than [in Tokyo].”

These are the gymnasts responsible for earning the program’s fourth gold medal. They didn’t go the cheesy route and name themselves the “Comeback Kids.” They’re grown women — well, everyone except 16-year-old Hezly Rivera — and they’ve been through some stuff. So, when deciding on a team nickname, they went for something a bit more raw. A phrase that would show their heightened confidence and inform the world that they’re back.

“F--- Around And Find Out.”

Nothing stood in their way. No twisties. No illness. No thoughts of leaving the sport. Yet in the years leading up to Paris, who could have imagined this U.S. women’s gymnastics team would score a nearly six-point win over the closest competitors, when almost every one of these women needed to overcome an abundance of adversity?

“In 2016, we were destined to win gold. Everybody already kind of said we would win gold, and so whenever we went out there, we did our job and we did win gold,” Biles said. “And it was just like, we were a little young and naive, so it didn’t hit the way that it does now. Now that I’m much older and we have so much more experience, we’re out here really having fun and enjoying what we’re doing.”

The team began the night on the vault — that wretched apparatus that now causes fits of stress for anyone who cares about Biles. Chiles felt it. That “is it going to happen again?” dread. But in the morning, Biles had told her therapist that she was feeling calm and ready for everything, including the vault. The meet allowed just one attempt per gymnast, so Biles had one chance to stick her landing. She did, for a 14.900 score.

“After I finished vault, I was relieved,” Biles said. “I was like, ‘Whew!’ Because, at least no flashbacks or anything.”

There on the team sideline, Chiles was fangirling as hard as Serena Williams, Natalie Portman, Michael Phelps and Spike Lee.

“Yo! Hallelujah! No flashbacks, no nothing!” Chiles said. “All she needs to do is do her normal, so me jumping up and down was just like a relief. And from there on, she’s the greatest of all greats, so I think it was kind of like, ‘Okay, we’re about to really do this and go out there and be us.’”

After the relief came more joy. Even with two more rotations to go, Chiles, the leader in the clubhouse when it comes to having the most fun, was smiling and making a heart gesture to the camera that followed the team to the balance beam. By that time, clearly, the meet had turned into a race for who’s coming in second. The U.S. women led all teams with an 87.432 score, more than three points ahead of the Italians. Gold would not become official until Biles capped the night on the floor. However, instead of the Taylor Swift mix that plays during her floor routine, organizers should have had “The Star-Spangled Banner” queued up. They would soon need it for Team USA’s podium moment.

“This means everything to me,” said Carey, who experienced a tough fall on the floor during the first day of competition. “I’m so honored to be on this team, to be able to contribute today. This week hasn’t exactly gone how I wanted it to, but I’m just grateful that I was able to compete tonight and get the job done.”

The workers in the teal Paris Olympic polos quickly did their job in building the medal stand. And Biles, Carey, Chiles, Lee and Rivera did theirs better than anyone else in the world. It took time, perseverance and a ‘F--- Around and Find Out” kind of toughness for this team to return to the podium. And so, these women deserved to bask in their golden moment.