From 'Rocky' to the GOAT: Best women's gymnastics routines at Paris Olympics

The Paris Olympics women's gymnastics meet, which wrapped up Monday, proved to be one of the best in Games history.

The women's all-around final drew a massive TV rating in the United States, topping every game of the 2023-24 NBA Finals and the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

And the competition featured another record-smashing performance from Team USA's Simone Biles, a heartwarming comeback narrative for Americans Suni Lee and Jade Carey, the first team medal in nearly a century for Italy and the first pan-American podium of color in the individual all-around final.

With the chalk settled in Paris' Bercy Arena, here's a look at the best — and most crucial — performances from the women's meet:

A 'Rocky' moment in the team finals

Brazil entered the team finals with its eyes on a medal. However, Flavia Saraiva — one of the team's best gymnasts — had a gruesome fall on the uneven bars while warming up. The result was an open wound on her face and a nasty shiner.

Would she still be able to compete?

Saraiva answered that question succinctly by executing a near-perfect bar routine a few minutes later, shaking off the nerves and delivering when it counted. Saraiva's warrior spirit made her an instant fan favorite at these Games.

Suni Lee breaks the curse on beam

When one gymnast makes an error, longtime gymnastics fans believe, the gymnasts competing after her tend to mess up, too.

So when Jordan Chiles began Team USA's beam rotation with a fall on her mount, disaster awaited, right?

Nope.

Suni Lee stepped up after Chiles and delivered a routine so confident, poised and gutsy that it knocked all of the "fall" energy out of the gym and reset Team USA's expectations. Lee sometimes gets lost in the Team USA shuffle, but she's an all-time great performer.

Kaylia Nemour makes Olympic history on bars

Nemour, the French-born Algerian gymnast, always had a chance at gold on the uneven bars, but when China's Qiu Qiyuan delivered a 15.500 routine, that chance seemed to shrink to nothing.

"When I saw her result of 15.500 points, I told myself that I would really need to fight," Nemour said , per Reuters.

Fight she did. Nemour delivered one of the greatest bars performances in Olympic history and earned Algeria — and the African continent — its first gymnastics gold medal.

"I got the best score of my life," Nemour said. "And it was the right time to get it."

Simone Biles proves she's the GOAT

You could take your pick from Biles' dazzling routines at these Olympics. Nearly every one was a knockout. But it was her swashbuckling performance on floor in the individual all-around final that cemented her legacy.

With everything on the line — and Brazil's Rebeca Andrade breathing down her neck — Biles stayed in bounds and delivered one of the most explosive performances we've seen from her. Her smile at the end said it all.