It’s the Olympic team final. Just that. The US and Italy start on vault, China and Brazil start on bars.

If my day is any indication—where I just dropped the phone and accidentally hung up on the BBC world service (another banner accomplishment for this one)—it’s going to be a great team final with zero falls.

Nastia is assigned to pound the stick before this final.

Only Zhang and Zhou have the parkas on to walk out, so they will be hitting their routines today.

Simone walks RIGHT past the lineup introduction. She’s running.

Rotation 1

Simone warming up the Cheng, which she also did for the team last year.

Flavia just peeled off the bars awkwardly in the warmup. Rolling off the mat. Hopefully she’s OK. She’s up and walking around getting ready now.

Flavia getting looked at by medical now.

Luo – UB – maloney to pak, smooth – van leeuwen, small leg break – blind to E piros to jaeger, nice – a little late on her 1.5 but OK, DLO, nice, good stick. 13.933

Chiles – VT – DTY, solid, big, medium hop back. 14.400

Evans opens GB with 13.100 on floor.

Esposito – VT – Italy – DTY, good height, just a little deep in landing, slide back. Solid. 14.166

Oliveira – UB – Brazil – maloney to pak, smooth – toe on to van leeuwen, solid -front giant 1/2 to high piked jaeger, very short on cast hs after – double front, lunge forward. 13.000

Carey – VT – USA – Cheng, hits it, little bounce back/up in place – leg crossing, leg separation on the table, solid. 14.800 is a giant number.

13.700 for Okamura on beam, 13.133 for Ghigoarta on floor.

Qiu – UB – China – inbar 1/2 to full turns to layout jaeger, clips her foot on the bar! – keeps going well, piked tkatchev – pak – van leeuwen, legs together well – FTDT, little hop. A hit but a major deduction in there. Very impressive to continue her rhythm.

D’Amato – VT – DTY to her feet but comes in deep with a larger lunge back. 13.933

13.466 for Martin on floor.

Biles – VT – Cheng, solid one, medium bounce back, good distance as usual. 14.900

14.300 for Qiu with 7.7 E, so not the 15 they wanted.

Saraiva – UB – she’ll go, complete with a taped eyebrow – toe full to tkatchev piked to pak, smooth – toe on to maloney to gienger, solid – short hs after – double front step back. Solid hit. A bit tentative, understandably, but through with a hit.

Flavia’s eyebrow is the new Produnova’s eyebrow.

13.666

US will drop 7 tenths on vault from qualification, entirely due to the Biles downgrade of 8 tenths in difficulty.

Andreoli – VT – hits a Y1.5 but a lot of tucking in the air and a hop forward.

Zhang – UB – China – full to layout jaeger, hits her but catches closer with some elbows – tkatchev to pak, solid – maloney is fingertips, connects to gienger, also close – 1.5 to FTDT, nice stick. Tentative on those releases with those close catches but through a hit routine. 14.433

Ellie Black gets a big 14.300 on beam for Canada.

China down more than a point on bars from qualification.

Andrade – UB – Brazil – maloney to stalder full to tkatchev piked to pak, to van leeuwen, lovely combination – good hs – pikled jaeger, high – quicjk 1/2 turn on high – toe full, late into FTDT, little hop back. A good one. 14.533

Voinea – FX – Romania – double double tuck, a little deep, step to the side – DLO to punch front, more comfortable than qualification – FTDT, slide back – popa – double tuck, solid, slide back – switch ring to split leap full

After 1
USA 44.100 (-0.699)
China 42.666 (-1.066)
Italy 41.665 (+0.033)
Canada 41.433 (+2.234)
Brazil 41.199 (-0.234)
Romania 40.599 (-0.134)
GB 40.199 (+1.067)
Japan 39.966 (-0.767)

OK Canada.

China giving back a point to the field here versus their bars in qualification, the most significant development of the first rotation.

Rotation 2

Soares – BB – Brazil – soares mount, good vertical – wolf triple, solid – bh slos, secure – aerial, huge break and falls. Oh Brazil. split jump to back tuck – switch to split 1/2 – wolf to sissone – bhs bhs double pike, little hop. 12.400

Suni misses her Nabieva in the warmup.

Villa – UB – Italy – tkatchev to pak to maloney to bhardwaj, nicely connected – van leeuwen, a bit of feet – short hs on high – front giant full, front giant 1/2, FTDT, little hop. 13.766

Cosman – VT – Romania – hits Y1.5, jarred herself a little on landing with a hop to the side

Zhou – BB – China – bhs front tuck, huge break, grabs the beam – CHINA – switch ring, wobble – now split the beam on a switch leap and falls- aerial, check – split ring jump to korbut is glorious – 3/1 dismount, hop back. 12.300

Chiles – UB – USA – van leeuwen, good – piked jager, solid – toe full to tkatchev piked to pak – maloney to gienger, solid – FTDT, little hop. Solid. 14.366

Quick question: Is Canada just going to 2022?

Natalie Portman is here loving Chiles’ routine. Natalie, can we focus a little less on this and a little bit more on the soccer team you own and our current lack of human defensive midfielders? Just a question.

D’Amato – UB – Italy – toe full to maloney to tkatchev, hit – stalder tkatchev piked to pak, good height – van leeuwen, small legs break – hop to the side on high bar to give her the room – front giant full to double front, step forward. Good. 14.644

Saraiva – BB – bhs mount, hit – little pause before split korbut – full turn – bhs loso, small slide back – switch ring, wobble, large break, bend over at the hips, keeps it on the beam – aerialq to split ring jump, step – side somi, holds it – split leap to sissone – double pike, lunge back. Big break in there but stays on. 13.433

Biles – UB – USA – weiler 1/2 to maloney, large leg break, connects to giant full to tkatchev piked to pak – van leeuwen, leg separation – toe full is solid in double double, little hop. No trouble. 14.400

Qiu – BB – China – bhs mount, hit – pause before split to stag ring – bhs back tuck combination, does not to the arabian, solid – switch to switch 1/2 to korbut,a  little under on switch 1/2 but smooth connection – aerail to split ring jump to bhs – a pause on her switch ring but OK – dismounts double pike, shorter with a step forward. Got a hit out there, smart to ditch the Arabian at this point because they just need scores. 14.600

Iorio – UB – Italy – stalder tkatchev pike to pak to maloney to stalder 1/2 to yezhova to van leeuwen – gets the combination, just some rhythm and small formies – double front, hop forward. 14.266

Evans – VT – GB – does the Amanar, short with a lunge back/sideard but keeps it to her feet. 13.966

Lee – UB – USA – Nabieva to bhardwaj, hit feet on mat? – van leeuwen, smooth – jaeger to pak to maloney to gienger, smooth – giant full – FTDT, little hop back. Yes, hit the mat with her feet on the bhardwaj.

Andrade has a big lean forward on her switch ring, keeps it on the beam. 14.133

Kishi – FX – Japan – double double tuck, hop back – hit, some chest position – front full to rudi, step back – wolf double – double tuck, slightly jarred on landing with a hop – split ring 1/2 – double pike, chest forward, step

Luo – BB – China – switch mount, good – layout 2 feet, wobble, leg up, saves it – switch to split ring jump to bhs – onodi, olds it – side aerial, secure – aerial to split to straddle, lovely – double pike, hits a necessary routine.

14.566 for Lee is a big score with 0.3 for foot brush.

After 2
USA 87.432 (-0.932)
Italy 84.330 (-0.500)
China 83.466 (-2.398)
GB 81.931 (+0.833)
Romania 81.598 (-0.101)
Brazil 81.165 (-1.703)
Canada 80.766 (+2.468)
Japan 79.565 (-1.234)

Italy doing the best of the top medal challengers at this point in terms of maintaining their scores from qualification. GB and Canada still looking to position themselves to take advantage of a further fall-apart.

Rotation 3

Zhou – FX – China – fully falls out of quad turn attempt with a stumble – double tuck, lovely form, solid landing – 3/1 to front tuck, hop – switch ring – split ring jump – 2.5 shuffle forward. 13.200

Chiles – BB – USA – front pike mount, Sacramone, way off line from the start – bhs loso loso is secure – aerial to straddle to bhs, connected –  side somi, has to lean and arm wave to keep it on – switch to sissone is hit – side aerial – switch side, hit – double pike, good stick. 12.733 compared to 13.600 from qualification.

Esposito – BB – Italy – bhs mount to bhs loso, excellent – switch to split jump 1/2, wobble, love the switch back leg – aerial, small check – side aerial – wolf triple, arm wave forward to control – double pike, hop back, good. 13.966, excellent score.

Soares finishes floor with bounce back on double pike. 13.233

Lee – BB – USA – mounting with side split, especially now – wolf triple, pulls it around – aerial to split to bhs, smooth connection – switch to switch 1/2 to split ring jump, solid – side aerial loso loso, does it and it’s on – switch ring, solid – gainer pike full, little hop, excellent routine. 14.600

Ou Yushan had a big bounce back on a double tuck on floor, but I do think she kept it in. Still just 12.733.

Black – VT – Canada – strong handspring front full, little hop.

Saraiva – FX – Brazil – DLO, small step back, stays in – switch 1/1, high and around – doubel tuck, bounce – back 1.5 to front full step forward – double, little shuffle back – 13.533

D’Amato – BB – Italy – hits mount – aerial, broken connection – switch to switch ring, small step and arm wave – his loso series, though a tentative landing – front tuck, hop forward – hits wolf – 2.5 dismount, good, small movement. A kind of nervy routine but gave away nothing major.

Fenton hits bars for 14.000. Now Downie – toe full to stalder tkatchev 1/2 to yezhova, hit – maloney to clear hip tkatchev – stalder tkatchev piked to pak, solid – van leeuwen, legs together – short hs on high – FTDT, stuck, Excellent. 14.933, huge.

Biles – BB – USA – switch mount, no combo – switch to switch 1/2 to back pike, secure – wolf triple a little crazy on the way but gets to the right place – aerial to split to straddle, gets the combination – bhs loso loso, secure – side aerial, odd break, bends forward at the hips, keeps it on – bhs bhs FTDT, hop back. She’ll be mad about the side aerial but otherwise right on. 14.366

12.733 for Zhang, China’s second 12.7 in a row on floor. Won’t be easy to come back from that on vault without the D.

Andrade – FX – Brazil – front full to FTDT, awkward stagger on landing but saves it as just a bounce – DLO 1/1, bounce back – split leap 1.5 is under rotated with a hop – double y, gets credit – DLO, lovely stuck – switch – switch full is around – double pike, bounce back

Andreoli does the FTDT dismount on beam, super deep but not a knee touch. 13.300

After 3
USA 129.131 (-1.599)
Italy 125.529 (-0.499)
GB 124.164 (+3.667)
Canada 122.632 (+2.201)
China 122.132 (-4.397)
Brazil 122.131 (-1.635)
Romania 120.497 (+1.799)
Japan 120.330 (-1.434)

It’s all fun and games until the British go to beam. Brazil will still like their chances given that they finish on vault. GB has to be perfect on beam.

Rotation 4

Ghigoarta – BB – Romania – front tuck mount, good – hits dance combination – side aerial, secure – bhs loso, check – switch to swtich 1/2, bigger arm wave wobble – front tuck, deep and falls – bhs bhs double tuck, step back

Esposito – FX – Italy – DLO, lovely, slide back – split leap full – y spin 2.5ish into illusion turn – split ring leap to split leap full – 2.5 and she’s so low she does it into a front handspring instead of a layout – double pike, bounce back. 12.666

Barbosa – VT – Brazil – DTY, kind of a struggle, deep landing, lunge to the side, not what they wanted. 13.366

Solid 13.500 bars for Stewart to start for Canada.

Fenton – BB – GB – loso mount, steps back to control – double turn, pretty large wobble but again keeps it together – side aerial to bhs is hit – aerial to split to bhs, connected – switch to sissone – double tuck, holds the landing. Good fight. 13.566 very much works. GB GAINS on Brazil after first routine.

Zhang hits her Tsuk double, leg form, shorter landing with lunge. 13.700

Esposito just 12.666 on floor.

Lee – FX – USA – DLO 1/1, little movement back, pike – switch ring to split leap full, good – back 1.5 to front full, hop, some knees – double L turn – wolf – double tuck, a little deep, hop to the side. 13.533

Saraiva – VT – Brazil – DTY, also not her best, a shorter landing, chest down and a step forward. GB is loving these vault landing for Brazil. 13.900

Rebeca do the triple challenge.

Qiu – VT – China – Tsuk layout full is hit, pike throughout, bounce back. 13.133

D’Amato – FX – Italy – lovely y spin – double double, step back OOB – 3/1, chest down, bit of a stagger on landing – wolf – switch to split leap full – split jump full – front 2/1 is solid – 13.466

Andrade – VT – Brazil – Cheng is great, lovely in the air, medium hop back.

Downie – BB – GB – switch mount, check – switch 1/2 under split but connected to straddle – side aerial to bhs, hits it – switch to full turn – aerial, solid – side somi, secure – 1.5 dismount, hop. Becky the beamer. 12.933

15.100 vault for Andrade and none too soon.

Luo – VT – China – hits yfull, pretty large bounce back

Chiles – FX – USA – DLO 1/1, hop back – front full to FTDT, solid landing, little hop – wolf 2.5 – switch to split leap 1.5, under, bounce – DLO, solid, small movement – pike full shush. Solid hit. 13.966

Brazil in on 164.497. Kinsella would need a huge, but doable, beam score to beat that.

Simone needs an 8 to pass Brazil.

Andreoli – FX – Italy – whip whip FT double pike, hit, hop forward – back full to double tuck, little hop – double y to illusion, hit – front loso to double pike, controls it –

Kinsella – BB – GB – candle mount, wolf double, hit – aerial to split, wobble – side aerial to loso is well done – switch to switch 1/2, little pause before korbut – 2.5 dismount, hop to the side. A really nice routine under pressure.

Now we wait for the scores for these two to come in.

Kinsella’s score is in on 13.600, a great number but JUST not enough to pass Brazil.

italy will comfortably go ahead of both GB and Brazil with 13.833 from Andreoli.

Going to be a tough 4th for GB after a great day. I think they thought for a second they had a medal.

Sorry, Simone needs a 9 on floor.

Biles – FX – USA – triple double, bounce back, looks just OOB on the extra step after – front full to double double tuck, strong – split leap 1.5, around – wolf double, no trouble – Biles, step forward OOB – switch full, no trip – DLO, solid. Some OOBs but she needed a 9.

1 USA
2 Italy
3 Brazil

GB and Canada great competitions. China finishes 6th.