Thread by @nytimes

Simone Biles lost her way midair while vaulting in the women's gymnastics team final at #Tokyo2020 on Tuesday, later explaining that she'd been struggling with the pressure placed on her and wasn't in a good place to compete.

Here's what happened. nyti.ms/376qJnI

Biles had planned to do an Amanar, a difficult vault with 2.5 twists. But she completed only 1.5 twists, then lunged forward while landing. nyti.ms/376qJnI

Biles’s score was among the lowest on vault. Her withdrawal left the U.S. without its highest-scoring gymnast for the three other events. nyti.ms/376qJnI

Without Biles, the Americans needed to be nearly perfect. Now under intense pressure, Suni Lee connected some of the hardest maneuvers done on the uneven bars. Lee scored 15.4, which would tie for the highest bars score of the Olympics so far. nyti.ms/376qJnI

On the beam, Viktoria Listunova of Russia performed difficult acrobatics and beautiful leaps, then dismounted with a double tuck. Her mostly clean routine meant Russia skirted disaster, since two of her teammates had fallen. nyti.ms/376qJnI

The Americans entered their final event, floor exercise, in striking distance to the Russians, but a fall by Jordan Chiles made a comeback unlikely. As the last competitor on the floor, Angelina Melnikova secured the gold for the Russians. nyti.ms/376qJnI

In the end, the Americans won the silver medal. These Games have made clear that Russia has closed the gap with the U.S. in women’s gymnastics. nyti.ms/376qJnI