These 8 Countries Are In The Gymnastics Team Final

On Tuesday, women's gymnastic teams from several countries competed for spots on the podium at the Olympic team all-around competition. Team USA emerged Sunday at the qualifying rounds as the team to beat, scoring nearly 10 points ahead of any other qualifying team. Those teams brought their game to the floor on Tuesday determined to defy the odds. How many teams are in the gymnastics finals? Three countries that made it to the final in 2012 are missing at this year's event.

Of the many countries that vied for a spot on Tuesday's roster, only the top eight were permitted to compete. Those were, in order of their placement:

• United States of America
• China
• Russia
• Great Britain
• Brazil
• Germany
• Japan
• Netherlands

Team USA closed out Sunday's qualifying competition with a score of 185.238, blowing the other teams out of the water. China, in second place, scored 175.279. There was just over a three-point spread between second place and eighth; Netherlands finished off the day with 171.929. It was a tough time for the Canadian team, which barely trailed Netherlands by .168 of a point, costing them a chance to participate in the team all-around.

Along with the team competition, gymnasts competed Sunday to qualify for the individual all-arounds, which take place on Thursday. The top 24 athletes went ahead for that competition, coming from 14 different countries.

The team all-around event was exciting and hectic, as several gymnasts from the eight teams competed on the uneven bars, balance beam, floor, and vault at the same time. All eyes were on Team USA's Simone Biles, who soared to a strong first-place finish in the qualifying contest. We also saw long-awaited performances by Brazil's Flávia Saraiva, the 4'4" gymnast who placed third on balance beam during the qualification contest, as well as China's Shang Chunsong, an Olympic veteran.

Several of the countries that competed in 2016's gymnastics all-around also qualified during the 2012 London Games. That year, the United States, Russia, China, Great Britain, and Japan participated as well. Countries that qualified during the last Olympics but not the present one are Romania, Italy, and Canada — though Canada was so close. This year, Germany, Netherlands, and Brazil, the Games' host country, got their chance in the spotlight.

The eight qualifying teams at Rio's 2016 Olympics brought their all, with one clear front-running team to beat. We can only hope that the upcoming individual all-around competition is as exciting as what these countries showed us on Tuesday.