TOKYO – Simone Biles could read the stress on her teammates' faces. Moments after she withdrew from the Olympic team final, the greatest gymnast her sport has produced could tell the weight the rest of the American team was taking on in her absence.
She encouraged them, told them they could succeed without her. Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles and Grace McCallum huddled together, offering each other encouragement in a situation none thought they would be in.
By the end of the night, the U.S. women were silver medalists.
“It was very emotional, but in that moment, we all knew that we needed to come together as a team and build that leadership up together because we didn’t have Simone,” Lee said.