Anonymous wrote:Okay question - why is this allowed in track but not in gymastics? Seems like the U.S. would sweep the podium there.
The sixth place finisher in vault got a spot when U.S. had the top three out of four qualifiers.
Giulia Steingruber of Switzerland, the bronze medalist on vault in 2016, is in sixth place in the vault qualifications, accounting for the two-per-country rule. There are still some vault final contenders to come in the last subdivision, but she has a very good chance of making the final.
However, because of what's known as the "two per" rule, no country can have more than two gymnasts participate in each event final, including the all-around final. For example, American gymnast MyKayla Skinner posted the fourth-highest score on the vault (14.866), but scored lower than teammates Biles (15.183) and Carey (15.166), the top two finishers in the event. So, despite Skinner performing better than several other gymnasts, she didn't qualify because of the two per rule.
https://www.sportingnews.com/us/athletics/news/olympic-gymnastics-qualifications-explained/4uj564nq21c21i2td56wgm695