Simone Biles Wins Second Gold Medal at Paris 2024 Olympics
Simone Biles won the gold medal in the all-around competition at the Paris Olympics on Thursday, eight years after her triumph in Rio 2016, placing her alongside the legendary Larysa Latynina and Vera Caslavska, who were previously the only two-time Olympic champions.
This is another impressive achievement in her already illustrious career, which continues to grow at the Bercy Arena, where she has already secured two golds and is aiming for three more.
Biles won with a score of 59.131 points, finishing 1.199 points ahead of Brazilian Rebeca Andrade (57.932), who once again took the silver medal, just as she did in Tokyo 2020. The bronze went to fellow American Sunisa Lee, the Tokyo champion, with 54.465 points.
Biles' remarkable feat only enhances the accomplishments of her competitors, especially Andrade, who came close to winning gold midway through the competition. Finishing second behind a gymnastics icon like Biles deserves special recognition.
Two days after leading the United States to team gold, Biles secured an individual victory despite a challenging performance on the uneven bars, which she managed to compensate for with her outstanding execution on the final two apparatus.
Andrade started strong with a near-perfect vault, the Cheng, earning 15.100 points with a difficulty of 5.6 and an execution score of 9.5, without a single misstep upon landing.
In a stunning display, Biles outdid Andrade's score with her Biles II, the Yurchenko double pike, achieving 15.766 points despite a significant step back on the landing, thanks to a starting difficulty of 6.400 and an execution score of 9.366.
After just one apparatus, Biles was in the lead, followed by Andrade, 0.666 points behind, Canada's experienced Ellie Black, 1.700 points behind, and Algeria's Kayla Nemour, 1.733 points behind in her first major final at 17.
The uneven bars turned the competition upside down. Andrade performed a solid routine for 14.666 points, her best in Paris. Biles, however, lost focus midway, struggling but saving the final move, earning only 13.733 points.
Nemour briefly took the lead with her highly complex routine, despite a significant error. The uneven bars are Biles' only apparatus without an Olympic medal.
Andrade led halfway through, with 0.200 points over Nemour and 0.267 over Biles, an unusual third-place position for her.
On the balance beam, Biles performed her acrobatic series flawlessly, scoring 14.566, enough to overtake Andrade, who scored 14.133. They entered the final apparatus, the floor, separated by only 0.166 points.
Nemour's score was adjusted after a review, placing her fourth behind Italy's Alice D'Amato.
On the floor, Sunisa Lee secured a podium spot with her routine. Andrade, with a minor misstep, performed excellently overall, taking the lead while awaiting Biles. To the sound of Taylor Swift, the "GOAT" did not disappoint, executing her high-difficulty elements with ease. She celebrated with a flag as her winning score was announced.
Biles is now the third gymnast in history to win a second all-around title, after Soviet Larysa Latynina (1956 and 1960) and Czechoslovak Vera Caslavska (1964 and 1968), and the first to do so in non-consecutive Games (2016 and 2024), having withdrawn from the Tokyo 2020 competition due to mental health issues.
Not even Romanian legend Nadia Comaneci, champion in 1976 but runner-up in 1980, managed the double. Comaneci watched Biles' victory at Bercy alongside IOC President Thomas Bach, who presented the medals.
Biles extends the American winning streak in this competition to six, all since 2004.
Italy's Alice D'Amato finished fourth, and Algeria's Nemour, disappointed, finished fifth.
Brazil's Flavia Saraiva, who sustained an eye injury during Tuesday's warm-up, heroically competed with a swollen, bruised eye, finishing ninth.
Artistic gymnastics will take a break on Friday, returning on Saturday with the start of the apparatus finals, where Biles has the chance to win three more medals in vault, beam, and floor.
