Paris Olympics: How Simone Biles is letting everyone pass before the race even starts

PARIS — Sunisa Lee is the reigning Olympic champion and currently one of the top three gymnasts in the world.

Yet the gap between her and number one, her American compatriot Simone Biles, is so great that it almost defies Lee’s comprehension.

“She goes in to pass and I’m like, ‘How the hell does she do that?'” Lee said. “And (U.S. Coach) Cecile (Landi) says, ‘I don’t know.'”

A lot of people don’t know it, or even understand it. That includes many Americans who watch gymnastics during the Olympics, such as for the all-around competition on Thursday, where Biles is the heavy favorite, in part because of her ability to increase the difficulty of her routines.

“I don’t know if we’ll ever see her level of difficulty in a gymnast again,” said Samantha Peszek, a 2008 silver medalist who now works as a gymnastics analyst for NBC.

This has led Peszek to adapt her broadcasting style to better inform fans who were first introduced to the sport through the old 10-point system, which emphasized flawless execution over athletic prowess.

“My job is, how do I make this sport more palatable to fans who only watch once every four years,” Peszek said. “And a lot of fans cling to that ‘Perfect 10.'”

The current system of scoring in gymnastics is a combination of difficulty — the “D score” — and execution — the “E score.” Separate panels of judges score each. Although execution is scored on a scale of 10, and a perfect 10 is possible, it does not happen.

The highest execution score in Sunday’s all-around qualifier was a 9.400 on vault by both Biles and Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, probably the world’s second-best gymnast. Just breaking an 8.0 on bars, beam or floor is considered elite.

The other measure is difficulty, which follows a scoring system based on which maneuvers a gymnast attempts. This is Biles’ secret weapon.

“Simone has taken the sport to levels of difficulty that were almost unimaginable,” said Jordyn Wieber, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist and now head coach at the University of Arkansas.

Consider the vault, where Biles’ 6.400 difficulty rating is a far cry from even her closest challengers, Andrade (5.6) or Lee (5.0). Even if all three performed their routines at the same level of execution, Biles would leave the rotation with a 0.8 lead over Andrade and 1.4 over Lee.

If we extrapolate this across all four disciplines, Biles has a huge advantage.

Her overall difficulty score during qualification was 25.8 – 6.4 on vault, 6.2 on bars, 6.4 on beam and 6.8 on floor.

Andrade’s total was 23.7 or 2.1 points (8.1 percent) behind Biles. Lee’s cumulative difficulty rating was 22.8 or 3.0 points (11.7 percent) behind.

By the time you get to the qualifier for fifth place, Italy’s Manila Esposito, the gap is 3.6. That means Esposito has to outperform Biles by more than 14 percent to beat her.

That’s a steep hill to climb and unlikely without a breakdown from Biles. That’s what Biles has done by pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. She’s almost playing a different sport. The competition is just about her doing her job. She doesn’t have to be perfect.

How did Biles get to this level? Talent, of course. Hard work, of course. She also has benefited from the points system that favors more experienced athletes who can add difficulty.

At 27, she is the oldest American female Olympic gymnast since the 1950s. Because she has avoided serious injuries while maintaining an intense competitiveness and motivation, she has had the time and training to build her skills and therefore scores.

“The older you get, the easier it gets,” said Alicia Sacramone Quinn, a silver medalist at the 2008 Olympics and strategic leader for Team USA. “You’re almost on autopilot. You know your body and you know today is going to be a good day to jump because ‘I feel like my body can handle it.'”

Now that USA Gymnastics is moving away from the centralized training system of former president Martha Karolyi, Biles and others can train in the way they feel is best for their individual development.

“The older you get, the more you’re exposed to it,” Sacramone Quinn said. “And I think the fact that her gymnastics continues to improve as she gets older is a testament to her drive to want to be the best and impact this sport and continue to push the boundaries to where it’s limitless.

“I tell her, ‘Stop being so good at gymnastics,'” Sacramone Quinn joked. “Let everyone else catch up.”

They’ll get that chance on Thursday. Given the routines Biles is expected to attempt and the level of difficulty she’ll face, it’s unlikely anyone will be able to catch her.