TOKYO — No reign lasts forever and the end, when it finally comes, is always a shock.
For the U.S. women to end here, in this fashion, though, was simply unfathomable.
Simone Biles withdrew from the team competition after struggling on vault, ending whatever chance the U.S. women had to win their third consecutive Olympic title. They finished with silver, the first time since the 2010 world championships that the Americans did not win the team title at a worlds or Olympics.
Russia won the gold, its first since the breakup of the Soviet Union.