The first rotation on Thursday for the top gymnasts was the vault, and both Biles and Raisman broke out their Amanars. In that challenging vault, the gymnast performs a round-off onto the board and then a back handspring onto the table. She then completes two-and-a-half twists before a blind landing.

Biles, as usual, flew higher and farther than anyone else, though she took a big step on her landing. It was enough for the top score of the day. Raisman also pulled off her Amanar, and the two Americans were one-two after one rotation.