ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — The U.S. women could have been forgiven a splatfest.
Only one member of the team, Skye Blakely, had competed at a team world championships before. Two-time U.S. champion Hezly Rivera was forced out of the competition 24 hours before their Sunday, Oct. 18, qualifying session with a bum left ankle. And all that's on the line at these worlds is a 15-year winning streak and a spot in the first home Summer Games in 40-plus years, 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
The Americans stepped up to those challenges and then some.
The U.S. women are comfortably atop the standings, finishing qualifying with 164.529 points. They counted just one score below 13, and it was a 12.966. Blakely and Claire Pease are 1-2 in the all-around, and they
have at least one gymnast in the top two on every event.
"I’ve just been reminding everyone how ready they are," Blakely said afterward. "Practice has been going super well, so just encouraging them to stay positive, stay happy and (remind them) that they are amazing, their gymnastics is amazing."
Granted, some of the U.S. women's biggest competition hasn't even taken the floor yet. Russia, the only team to beat the United States since 2010, China, Brazil and Canada have their qualifying sessions Monday, Oct. 19.
But if there was a time for the U.S. women to show some nerves, this was it.
World championships present challenges other competitions don't
The United States has the deepest talent pool in the world, which often is enough to give them an advantage at international competitions. Get through the U.S. championships and the team selection camp that follows, and the actual competition can seem like the easy part.
But there are quirks to worlds that can unsettle even the best gymnasts. Time changes. Extended time away from home. A schedule that has requires you to be in competition mode for, at minimum, a week solid between podium training, qualifying and the team final. Even longer for those who make all-around and event finals.
The Americans shrugged it all off. They didn't have a single fall, and their biggest "errors" were a wobble on balance beam from Claire Pease and Charleigh Bullock stumbling into the landing of a tumbling pass on floor exercise. Neither of their scores had to count because teams can drop their lowest score in qualifying.
The Americans' best showing came on vault. They may no longer be "the United States of Amanar," when they'd walk away from vault with a two- or three-point lead because everyone had perfected the difficult skill. But their vaults were all solid, with none of the near-miss landings that make you hold your breath and look to make sure there's medical staff nearby.
They went 42.133 on vault, a score that will be tough for anyone to beat.
They impressed on uneven bars, too. Bullock looks as if she's floating between the bars, while Blakely could make an instructional video with how perfectly straight her legs are in her handstands and pirouettes.
Dulcy Caylor delivers in her one routine
If there was anywhere the Americans were going to struggle, it was balance beam. It's daunting under the best of circumstances, the width of an iPhone and 4 feet off the ground. It's also the one event the U.S. women needed to use Dulcy Caylor, who'd had 24 hours to shift her mindset from alternate to competitor because of Rivera's injury.
Caylor was near-perfect, with not a single wobble or bobble. Her 13.3 was the Americans' second-highest on the event, and Caylor beamed as she trotted off the podium.
"We told Dulcy from the start, be aware the chance you compete is quite high," said Patrick Kiens, one of Caylor's personal coaches. "She just kept doing her routines like everybody else, as if she was going to compete. That is the role of an alternate. You need to approach it as if you are going to compete because it can happen, it has happened and it will happen in the future."
Not only did they look ready for their big moment, they also reveled in it. As they were walking from their floor exercise, their first event, to vault, Reese Esponda was dancing and holding a small fan to her face. Charleigh Bullock yelled so loudly for her teammates she could be heard over other gymnasts' floor exercise music.
"It was a really cool experience and the team was amazing," Esponda said. "We had so much fun together."
Skye Blakely’s emotional moment
The only tears came at the end, and they were tears of relief and joy.
Blakely, who several teammates credited for keeping them calm, was considered a lock for the Paris team until she blew out her Achilles at Olympic trials. She has spent the last two years slowly working herself back into peak shape.
Now, for the first time in four appearances at the world championships, she'll compete in an all-around final.
"It just means the world to me, knowing how much I’ve been through," said Blakely, who dissolved into tears after she was finished competing.
"Just so full of joy," Blakely added. "I’ve pushed through so much. So much has been seen online but there’s also so many things behind the scenes that people don’t know and haven’t seen. I’m just so proud of myself and thankful."
All of the Americans should be.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: With every reason to falter, US women show what they’re made of at gymnastics worlds
