Three years after withdrawing from the Tokyo Games, Simone Biles dazzled with a challenging floor routine on Thursday, securing the all-around gymnastics gold medal. At 27, Biles narrowly outperformed Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, bouncing back from a major error on the uneven bars. Sunisa Lee, Biles’ teammate and the previous all-around champion, claimed the bronze medal.
This gold marks Biles’ second at the Paris Games, following her standout performance in the U.S. team’s victory in the team competition on Tuesday. Andrade, who also won silver at the last Olympics, posed the toughest challenge Biles has faced in years. There was a moment when Andrade seemed poised to cause an upset after Biles’ low score on the bars, but the high difficulty of Biles’ floor routine ultimately secured her the top spot.
Biles scored a 59.131, compared to Andrade’s 57.932. Following her victory, The Washington Post reported that Biles revealed a necklace with a sparkling goat pendant—a nod to her “greatest of all time” status, a title she’s held even before these Olympics.
A USA fan holds up a cutout of Simone Biles and a goat’s head, a nod to Biles’ greatest-of-all-time moniker. By Paul Childs/Reuters
Biles has more opportunities to add to her medal tally in Paris, having qualified for three of the four event finals: vault, balance beam, and floor exercise. Regardless of the outcomes in these events, Biles’ comeback is firmly established. Despite facing heavy criticism for her withdrawal from the Tokyo Games, including from figures like J.D. Vance, the Texas native has demonstrated that her time away from the sport has not diminished her legacy as one of the greatest American Olympians of all time.
By AlizeLaVie
