Global gymnastics is catching Team USA, and the sport is all the better for it

But her results do speak to a fascinating, eyebrow-raising trend in women's gymnastics: that while Team USA remains in front, global gymnastics is catching up at a remarkable pace.

It was Brazil who pushed Team USA the furthest in these Olympics, challenging it both on a team and individual level. Brazil's Rebeca Andrade was there, ready to capitalize on any and every mistake, in all of Team USA's events — and Biles knew it. 

"I don't want to compete with Rebeca no more," Biles laughed after narrowly beating her to all-around individual gold. "I'm tired! She's way too close. I've never had an athlete that close, so it definitely put me on my toes. I'm getting uncomfortable, guys! I was stressing!"

Andrade got her revenge in the floor event final, where a small mistake from Biles left the door open for her to snatch the gold away. Biles — and her USA teammate Jordan Chiles, who finished third — showed their respect for Andrade by bowing to her as she took to the podium for her medal ceremony.

It isn't just Andrade who is capable of making a challenge: Italy's Alice D'Amato defeated both Biles and Suni Lee on the beam final to win her nation's first-ever gymnastics gold. 

The two Americans were quick to congratulate her after she executed a near-perfect routine.

These clear showings of fear and respect — from Team USA and toward Team USA — are fantastic for the development of gymnastics as a whole. Team USA isn't just trying to beat its own records anymore: it has real, present competition, and it looks like it knows that. 

In previous Olympics, finishing second or third was considered a disappointment for American gymnasts. But when Chiles won bronze Monday on floor, she — and the rest of Team USA — celebrated it as the epic achievement it was.

Four years is a long time, and it's hard to say where the gymnastics landscape will be when the Olympics return to Los Angeles in 2028. Will the 21-year-old D'Amato have come into her own as a global competitor? 

Will Andrade and Biles be able to compete as they once did? Will China, reeling from a disappointing Olympics in Paris, come storming back to challenge for dominance? Nothing in the sport is certain anymore.

Well, almost nothing. We do know this: after years of unhealthy training and American dominance, women's gymnastics is reaching new heights for sportsmanship, parity and competition. 

2028 can't come quickly enough.