In the end, the Russian team beat the Americans by 3.5 points, a significant margin in gymnastics.
Russian gymnast Viktoria Listunova said that «we knew it was possible. We did not waste our chance» after American gymnast Simon Biles had to withdraw from Olympic competition, the Associated Press reported. The women’s team’s win follows a victory by the men’s team in its finals. Russia, barred at the Olympics from using its name, flag or anthem because of a systemic doping scandal, swept the gymnastics team gold medals, among the most coveted at the Summer Games, the AP said. It was the first time either team from Russia has won a gold medal at the Olympics since shortly after the Soviet Union’s collapse. Both the men’s and women’s teams won in 1992 but failed to do so in the following decades.
