The United States has reigned over women’s gymnastics for more than a decade, with the last team defeat handed to it by Russia in 2010, by only two-tenths of a point. Since then — and particularly with Simone Biles’s emergence on the world scene in 2013 — the American team has seemed unstoppable.
But Biles and her teammates are human, and humans are not perfect. On Sunday, the Russian team toppled predictions by qualifying for the Olympic team final in first place. The U.S. squad finished second, behind by more than a point, making for a potentially thrilling showdown in Tuesday’s final.