Teammates step up to the plate to deliver silver for Biles

Raising the bar: USA’s Sunisa Lee competing in the uneven bars. — AFP

TOKYO: When Simone Biles decided she was dropping out of the team gymnastics competition and told her teammates, for a few seconds they were in shock.

Then the remaining three in the team competition – all Olympic novices – pulled themselves together, got out on the floor and the beam and uneven bars, and won a silver medal for the United States and for Biles, the powerhouse and mentor they all looked up to.