Against the backdrop of a very, very green arena in Rio de Janerio, gymnastics history was made and records were broken. Two athletes proved they were the best in the world and possibly of all time, young talents proved they were medal-worthy, and a 41-year-old gymnast proved she’s absolutely timeless.
Watch some of the most memorable, emotional and awe-inspiring moments from the gymnastics competition at the Rio Olympics.
The Final Five win team gold
Simone Biles and Aly Raisman win gold and silver in the all-around final
Biles is the fifth U.S. female gymnast to win the all-around title at the Olympics, but she stood apart in how decisively she claimed gold: her margin of victory of 2.1 points is larger than the winning margins from 1980 to 2012 combined.
After a disappointing all-around final at the London Olympics saw Raisman lose the tiebreaker for bronze and finish fourth, 22-year-old Raisman finally got her well-deserved spot on the Olympic all-around podium. She also won a silver medal on the floor exercise.
Simone Biles wins two more golds and a bronze medal in the event finals
After winning both team and all-around gold, Biles proved her greatness three more times by claiming medals in three out of four event finals. She showed power and control to win gold on vault, incredible amplitude and style to win gold on floor, and admirable mental toughness on beam to recover after a mistake and claim bronze.
Kohei Uchimura leads the Japanese men to a long-awaited gold in the team final
While Uchimura has won six consecutive all-around titles at the world championships in addition to the all-around gold in London, the victory he wanted more than anything was gold in the Olympic team final. Outscoring all their rivals, the Japanese men fulfilled that dream in Rio.
King Kohei is unexpectedly challenged by Ukraine’s Oleg Verniaiev in the all-around final
Uchimura and Verniaiev went head to head throughout all six events in the men’s all-around final, with the young Ukrainian–who has never won an all-around medal at the world championships–maintaining a slim lead going into the last event, the horizontal bar. Uchimura proved his supremacy once again, winning gold while Verniaiev proudly accepted silver.
Great Britain’s Max Whitlock follows up all-around bronze with two golds in one day
After joining Uchimura and Verniaiev on the all-around podium, Whitlock pocketed two more medals within hours of each other on the first day of event finals. A British gymnast hadn’t won an all-around medal since 1908, and before Whitlock’s victories on floor and pommel horse, a British gymnast had never won an Olympic gold medal.
U.S. men rebound from disappointing team and all-around finals to claim three apparatus medals
While the U.S. men’s gymnastics team finished off the podium in the team and all-around finals, Alex Naddour and Danell Leyva made the most of the last few days of gymnastics competition, the event finals. Naddour, who was an alternate on the 2012 Olympic team, won a bronze medal on the pommel horse. Leyva, who was originally named an alterate for the Rio squad but was brought in to replace John Orozco after an injury, won a pair of silvers on the parallel bars and horizontal bar.
Beloved Brazilian gymnasts repay the cheering crowds with three medals
The fans in the Olympic Arena made no secret of their love for their hometown athletes, roaring with joy for the Brazilian gymnastics teams. The feeling was mutual, as shown by the emotinal reactions of Diego Hypolito, Arthur Mariano and Arthur Zanetti, who each claimed a medal in the event finals.
41-year-old Oksana Chusovitina competes in her seventh Olympics
Showing she’s still competitive with gymnasts half her age, Uzbekistan’s Chusovitina qualified for the vault final and finished seventh.