Sports
Here's How To Watch Gymnastics At The Paris Olympics
Team USA is ready to slay.
Every four years, women’s artistic gymnastics captures the world’s attention, and sports enthusiasts everywhere suddenly have expert opinions on wolf turns, Amanars, and, of course, Simone Biles. The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris have thrust Team USA’s gymnasts back into the spotlight, and all eyes are on Biles, Suni Lee, Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, and Hezly Rivera. The five are considered favorites for the team gold as well as several individual medals, but the Tokyo Olympics proved that anything can happen on the sport’s biggest stage.
This year’s competition promises fascinating storylines. Biles has called the Paris Olympics a “redemption tour” for her, Lee, Carey, and Chiles, saying they all have “more to give” after their performances in Tokyo, per NBC News. There, the team earned a silver medal, Lee won gold in the all-around final, and Biles, Lee, Carey, and MyKayla Skinner won individual medals.
Biles personally is on a comeback after pulling out of multiple 2021 Olympic events to prioritize her mental health.
The team of veterans — and one newcomer, 16-year-old Rivera — has unfinished business. Here’s when and how to watch them compete.
When Do Team USA Gymnasts Compete?
Women’s Qualification: July 28
Paris’ women’s artistic gymnastics competition begins with qualification on Sunday, July 28. The teams have been sorted into groups, and the first starts at 3:30 a.m. ET. Team USA is in Subdivision 2, which begins at 5:40 a.m. ET.
During qualification, Biles, Lee, Carey, Chiles, and Rivera will fight to earn one of two spots in the team all-around final as well as spots in the individual all-around and apparatus finals that are held later in the week. Each team has the chance to put four of its five members up on each apparatus (vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise); the top three scores will count toward Team USA’s combined total.
The top eight scorers from each event move on to the final; however, there’s a two-athlete-per-country limit in the individual categories, so any Americans who are outscored by two teammates won’t compete in that event’s final, no matter how good their placement among the rest.
Women’s Team Final: July 30
The five-woman U.S. team will compete together on Tuesday, July 30. The event starts at 12:15 p.m. ET. In the team event, only three members compete on each apparatus, and all of their scores count.
Teams to watch:
At the last Olympics, Russia won gold, while Team USA earned silver, and Team GB (representing Great Britain and Northern Ireland) took home bronze. The ROC isn’t participating in women’s artistic gymnastics in Paris, so they won’t be in the mix.
The Americans are the favorites, having won the team all-around at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. Fellow 2023 medalists Brazil and France may be in podium contention, as well as China, which has a long history of gymnastics success.
Women’s All-Around Final: Aug. 1
Eight gymnasts will compete on each of the apparatus to be crowned the Olympic all-around champion, a feat accomplished by both Biles (2016) and Lee (2021). The event begins at 12:15 p.m. ET on Thursday, Aug 1.
Athletes to watch:
Barring unexpected events, Biles is expected to reclaim her throne. Lee’s goal is to medal again, and Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade (silver medalist at both the 2023 World Championships and the Olympics in 2021) is another podium favorite. There are plenty of other possible challengers, too, such as China’s Qiu Qiyuan, Italy’s Alice D’Amato, and France’s Melanie de Jesus dos Santos.
Women’s Vault Final: Aug. 3
The first of the apparatus finals is on Saturday, Aug. 3 with a start time of 10:20 a.m. ET.
Athletes to watch:
Biles has the highest difficulty score in the world with her Biles II vault (aka the Yurchenko double pike), but Andrade has managed to beat her before. The two are likely the top contenders, with Carey and South Korea’s Yeo Seo-jeong likely being strong challengers.
Women’s Uneven Bars Final: Aug. 4
The next apparatus up is the uneven bars, beginning at 9:40 a.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 4.
Athletes to watch:
Lee was expected to take the gold in Tokyo, but she ended up with a bronze medal. One of her goals for Paris is another bars medal, per NBC News. She could battle with current world medalists Qui Qiyuan of China and Kaylia Nemour of Algeria, plus the reigning Olympic champ in the event, Nina Derwael of Belgium.
Women’s Balance Beam Final: Aug. 5
Monday, Aug. 5 brings a double dose of women’s apparatus finals. First, it’s the ever-stressful balance beam with a start time of 6:38 a.m. ET.
Athletes to watch:
Another one of Lee’s 2024 goals is to win the gold on balance beam. However, she could face stiff competition from the likes of Biles, Andrade, and past champion Sanne Wevers of the Netherlands, among others.
Women’s Floor Exercise Final: Aug. 5
The final women’s artistic gymnastics final starts at 8:23 a.m. ET on Monday, Aug. 5.
Athletes to watch:
Women’s artistic gymnastics will go out with a bang. Biles won the event in 2016, while Carey took home gold in 2021. Both will likely battle it out again with Andrade. Chiles and Brazil’s Flavia Saraiva may hit the podium, too.
How Can I Watch Gymnastics At The 2024 Olympics?
If you’re looking to stream the 2024 Paris Games in the United States, live feeds for every event are available on various NBCUniversal-owned platforms. You’ll need to either subscribe to Peacock or use your cable login to watch on NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com, the NBC app, or the NBC Olympics app. They’ll also offer replays.
If you prefer to watch on TV, there will be live and tape-delayed coverage on NBC, USA Network and E! throughout the Olympics.
As part of its Team USA x Bustle 2024 Media Partnership, BDG is amplifying the stories of Team USA athletes, and aiding in the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee's mission of empowering America’s elite athletes through physical and mental health resources, funding, high performance support, training facilities, education and career coaching, and more. The USOPC is privately funded by the American public and Team USA sponsors. Learn more at TeamUSA.com and USOPC.org.
