TOKYO — Before Saturday’s qualification at the Tokyo Games, the men on the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team had their own pep rally.
They were in the warm-up gym and had set up a portable speaker. They played rap, country, rock ’n’ roll, techno, any and all kinds of music that would get them relaxed enough to compete at their best.
They figured that there would be no fans in the stands because of Covid-19 restrictions, so why bother getting stressed? Their theory seemed to work.
The American men qualified fourth overall, enough to advance to the team final next week.