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The U.S. Women's Gymnastics team solidified its place in history with a triumphant win in the team all-around competition on Tuesday.

They posted a combined score of 184.897 which was 8 points higher than that of their nearest competitor. A margin of victory that large has never happened in a major competition since the adoption of the new scoring system.



The team was led to victory by Simone Biles, inarguably the greatest gymnast in the world, who posted top scores on floor, balance beam and vault. Her teammates, Gabby Douglas, Laurie Hernandez, Madison Kocian, and Aly Raisman, also performed extraordinary routines.

Douglas delivered an impressive 15.766 on her signature event, uneven bars. National Team coordinator Martha Karolyi once nicknamed the 20-year-old "flying squirrel" because of her ability on the apparatus.

The team's complete dominance eliminated any suspense about the outcome, but fans of the sport got to see, once again, some of the most impressive power tumbling and high-flying acrobatics around.

With this win, Douglas and Raisman become the only U.S. women to have three Olympic gold medals.

The competition is far from over. Biles and Raisman will compete in the individual all-around competition on Thursday and all of the ladies will compete in apparatus finals next week.

Photo: David Ramos/Getty Images