During the women’s gymnastics qualification round, the top three all-around scores were awarded to three American women. Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas came up with phenomenal scores due to their performances on floor, beam, bars and vault. In fact, if this were the all-around finals, the United States would sweep the podium.


There’s one little problem. Each country can send no more than two competitors to the all-around, so Douglas, who won all-around gold in London, was the odd woman out. The same scenario happened in 2012, when 2011 all-around world champion Jordyn Wieber came in third.


Immediately, my Twitter mentions filled will people calling the rule unfair. Douglas’ high score should be enough! She got screwed! And it does seem that way if you’re not looking at the bigger picture.


This rule is instituted by FIG, the international gymnastics federation, who oversees gymnastics at the Olympics. It’s not just the job of FIG, to oversee competitions, and create rules. It’s also their job to ensure gymnastics is growing all over the world.


A two-person-per-country rule is part of that. Is it likely a gymnast from Guam or Switzerland is going to come from nowhere to beat Biles or Raisman in the all-around final? No. But it is likely her performances are going to be broadcast at home. It is likely gymnastics clubs in Guam and Switzerland will experience a surge in membership after seeing her perform. It is likely that ensuring international experiences for as many gymnasts as possible are important for growing the sport.


No Olympic sport can take this responsibility lightly, either. Wrestling, which has been a cornerstone of the Olympics since its ancient days, was briefly dropped from the Olympic program as it became too concentrated in certain countries.


Douglas, Raisman and Biles knew and understood what they had to do to make it to the all-around. While Douglas performed beautifully, it just wasn’t enough to get this particular goal. Her difficulty was not as high as her teammates.


It was enough to help her team qualify by a wide margin for the team final, and to qualify herself for event finals in uneven bars. Her efforts are not lost because she didn’t qualify for all-around, nor is her London gold diminished by this.


Gymnastics is far from the only sport to have these sorts of limits. Swimming can only send two per country in each race. Track and field can’t send more than three. The big difference is those limits are a factor at Olympic Trials. The third best freestyler and the the fourth best hurdler in the country probably understand just how Douglas is feeling tonight.