American gymnast Simone Biles once again impressed the world by winning gold in the women’s vault at the Paris Olympic Games. With her spectacular Yurchenko double pike, she secured her third victory at these Games and her seventh Olympic title overall.
Biles, who had previously led Team USA to gold in the team event and won all-around gold, delivered two outstanding vaults, which ensured her convincing victory over Olympic and world champion Rebeca Andrade from Brazil. American gymnast Jade Carey secured the bronze medal.
Biles opened the competition with her signature vault, the Yurchenko double pike, which is now known as the Biles II. The height she achieved was impressive, and although she had to take a step backward upon landing, she received an execution score of 9.4 and a difficulty score of 6.4, resulting in a total score of 15.700. Her second vault, a Cheng vault, which included a round-off and concluded with a unique twist, earned her a score of 14.900.
The 27-year-old gymnast clinched the victory at Bercy Arena with an average score of 15.300 points. Andrade began with a beautiful Cheng vault, scoring 15.100 points, but made a minor error during the landing of her second vault, averaging 14.966 points overall. Carey, the last of eight finalists, captured the bronze with an average score of 14.466, surpassing North Korea’s An Chang Ok.
Dressed in a vibrant red leotard, Biles beamed as she received a warm reception from the audience in Bercy Arena. Her smile grew even wider as she acknowledged the judges after her second vault, and she remained joyful as she exchanged a high-five with her coach, Laurent Landi.
Biles, already the most decorated gymnast in history, has now reached new heights with gold medals in all three women’s gymnastics events held in Paris. She has a total of 40 world and Olympic medals, of which 30 are gold. In total, she has 10 Olympic medals, seven of which are gold.
Biles led Team USA to victory in the team final before winning her second all-around Olympic title just two days prior. She has the opportunity to further increase her medal collection when she competes in the balance beam and women’s floor exercise finals on Monday. This marks her triumphant return to the Olympic stage after experiencing mental blocks known as “twisties,” which led her to withdraw from most of her events in Tokyo.