Name it an indication of the occasions we stay in, however there’s at the moment a statistic in ladies’s inventive gymnastics (WAG) that’s so baffling, it makes me marvel how this present period will likely be interpreted by followers in future many years. This statistic was made doable solely by a mix of unprecedent geopolitical occasions that don’t have anything to do with sports activities, coupled with one of the surprising moments in Olympic historical past, all whereas occurring alongside a as soon as in a century pandemic.
The statistic in query is that that of the final 4 gymnasts to win the gold medal within the All-Round, in all 4 circumstances it marked the final time they competed in a significant All-Round Finals. Consequently, all 4 gymnasts can say they’ve but to be crushed and have but to have their crown taken away by a fellow rival. The 4 gymnasts in query are:
Simone Biles of the USA (2019 World Championships)
Sunisa Lee of the USA (2021 Olympics)
Angelina Melnikova of Russia (2021 World Championships)
Rebeca Andrade of Brazil (2022 World Championships)
Simone Biles gained the All-Round in conventional style on the 2019 World Championships. However then issues obtained bizarre when the 2020 Olympics had been delayed till 2021. Throughout these Olympics Simone famously withdrew from All-Round finals after experiencing a bout of “the Twisties.” This allowed Sunisa Lee to take the All-Round gold medal and surpass Simone Biles, however solely doing so underneath circumstances the place she wasn’t competing straight in opposition to Simone.
Subsequent got here the 2021 World Championships which because of the Covid-19 Pandemic, had been caught up in a scheduling quirk. By no means earlier than had the All-Round been contested twice in a single yr, nor held straight after the Olympics in a time interval the place lots of the high gymnasts sometimes take a relaxation interval from high-level competitors. This allowed Angelina Melnikova to win the All-Round, however doing so in a contest the place neither Sunisa Lee nor Simone Biles had been in attendance, whereas Rebeca Andrade was current however opted to not compete as an All-Arounder.
However then got here Russia’s warfare in opposition to Ukraine leading to Russian athletes together with Melnikova being banned from competitors as a warfare sanction. This resulted in organizers for the 2022 World Championships awkwardly selling Melnikova because the reigning #1 gymnast on their occasion web site, for a contest the place she was banned from competing or defending her title. This allowed Rebeca Andrade to win the All-Round on the 2022 World Championships in a contest the place Melnikova, Sunisa, and Biles had been all absent.
Thus finishing a 4 yr interval the place ladies’s gymnastics produced 4 totally different All-Round Champions, with none occasion of the earlier gold medalist straight dropping to the brand new victor.
As a fan of the game, it is a moderately distinctive time interval as a result of we’ve 4 consecutive cases the place a extremely adorned gymnast reached a high-point in her profession, with out having any type of closure to their present run of success. 4 gymnasts have concurrently watched their careers rise, with no “fall” in sight or something resembling a climatic finish.
However what makes this present pattern so fascinating is that none of those gymnasts have deliberately averted one another. All 4 gymnasts have made a real effort to stay on the highest degree of competitors and attend the 2024 Olympics in high form.
For Sunisa Lee and Simone Biles, it’s completely regular for a high-ranking American gymnast to take a hiatus spanning 1.5 years which is strictly what Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas did up to now. Within the case of Sunisa Lee, she can also be competing through the period of an unprecedented NCAA rule change (NIL) the place present Olympic superstars can now concurrently money in on post-Olympic sponsorships whereas sustaining NCAA eligibility.
This by no means earlier than seen state of affairs made Sunisa Lee the first-ever Olympic All-Round Champion to compete as a school gymnast. Sunisa Lee was the primary of her sort having the ability to make the most of a rule change that had beforehand restricted high-level Olympic gymnasts from competing NCAA as an alternative of elite. Contemplating Sunisa intends to return to elite competitors by the Summer time of 2023 regardless of being hospitalized with a non-gymnastics associated medical situation earlier within the yr, she is the final gymnast who might ever be accused of making an attempt to dodge a top-level matchup.
The identical may very well be mentioned for Simone Biles whose Tokyo-2021 Olympic expertise was so terrible and got here with such taxing media scrutiny, it’s comprehensible why she would wish to wait so long as doable earlier than returning to competitors within the Paris-2024 Olympic cycle. Simone Biles is just not solely probably the most adorned gymnast within the historical past of the World Championships, however has already had one of many longest careers amongst any gymnast to have ever gained the All-Round. If there’s one gymnast that has earned the appropriate to skip a contest as a result of she is an getting old veteran who needs to protect her physique, whereas having nothing left to show with any future success being merely a bonus on high of a storied profession, it’s Simone Biles.
However Simone Biles has all of the indicators of a gymnast who’s coaching exhausting for a future look in high-level competitors together with the latest announcement that she is going to compete alongside Sunisa Lee within the U.S. Traditional later within the Summer time.
After which there’s Angelina Melnikova who’s with out exaggeration probably the most aggressive gymnast of the previous decade in the case of attending any and each competitors obtainable to her. Beginning along with her senior debut in 2016, Angelina Melnikova has by no means missed a European Championships, World Championships, or Olympics from 2016 to 2021. The lone exception being the 2020 European Championships which she was barred from competing in resulting from Covid-19 restrictions.
Angelina Melnikova solely appeared to be getting higher and higher with every passing competitors. Her success had lastly culminated in successful the celebrated All-Round gold medal in late 2021. However earlier than Melnikova might comply with up on that success, Russia was banned from competitors in early 2022. But Melnikova continues to coach and compete in Russian home competitors, nonetheless making an attempt to be an athlete, even whereas having no high-level competitors to try for.
Lastly, there’s Rebeca Andrade who has solely competed in All-Round Finals on three events within the eight years she has been eligible for high-level competitors on the Olympics and World Championships degree. However Andrade has suffered three ACL tears in her profession which explains her quite a few absences. Many gymnastics followers (myself included) are of the opinion that every one the gold medals Andrade has gained in her final three main competitions are proof that Rebeca has all the time been one of the gifted gymnasts within the sport, it was a longstanding historical past of accidents that had prevented her from proving her true capabilities till now.
None of those 4 gymnasts have proven something to point their careers are on the decline. Melnikova and Andrade are two long-time veterans who’ve simply begun to hit their stride and enter probably the most dominant portion of their careers. Sunisa Lee continues to be a comparatively younger star with untapped potential for the longer term. And Simone Biles will all the time have the potential to be a gold medal risk. Whereas it needs to be famous that Simone was at her most dominant type proper up till the 2021 Olympics.
The final time a reigning All-Round Champion was truly defeated in an All-Round Finals was Morgan Hurd on the 2018 World Championships. If we didn’t have the context of Simone Biles dominating the game within the 2013-2018 period and solely seemed on the sport utilizing outcomes from 2019-2023, followers can be fully divided over which of those 4 gymnasts was really the highest risk for the 2024 Olympics.
Sunisa Lee, Angelina Melnikova, Simone Biles, and Rebeca Andrade have by no means appeared collectively in the identical All-Round Finals. It was solely on the 2019 World Championships and 2021 Olympics that 3 of 4 had been in the identical All-Round Finals. In the meantime the World Championships in 2017, 2021 and 2022 featured simply 1 of 4 gymnasts.
The climatic showdown between these 4 gymnasts will probably by no means come. Angelina Melnikova is at the moment underneath a warfare ban that not solely has no finish in sight, however even Russian officers have begun to publicly acknowledge that their outlooks for being allowed to take part on the 2024 Olympics in gymnastics are grim. For Melnikova, probably the most lifelike state of affairs is the warfare ban gained’t be lifted till no less than the Los Angeles-2028 Olympic quad, a time interval the place Biles will almost definitely be retired.
The Covid period of gymnastics will likely be remembered for these 4 gymnasts and their All-Round prowess, but paradoxically these gymnasts didn’t have all that many encounters with one another within the All-Round. And definitely not through the time interval when all 4 gymnasts had been on the peak their success.
Between Sunisa, Melnikova, Andrade, and Biles, none of those gymnasts have straight competed in opposition to some other member of the quartet on greater than two events. Of the 4 gymnasts, Angelina Melnikova has probably the most All-Round appearances within the 2016-2022 period. However Melnikova has confronted Biles solely two occasions in All-Round Finals, Sunisa Lee two occasions, and Rebeca Andrade on one event. That’s the sum whole of any of those private rivalries.
Which brings me again to the unique query that impressed this text. How will future generations of WAG followers interpret the present period of gymnastics?
