Simone Biles has once again achieved the highest honor in gymnastics, claiming her sixth career gold and her second Olympic all-around title.
With a score of 59.131, Biles edged out Brazilian competitor Rebeca Andrade, who will keep her all-around silver from Tokyo (57.932), and Tokyo all-around champion Suni Lee, who secured the bronze (56.465). This is the first time two Olympic all-around champions have shared the podium.
Biles joins an elite group, with only Larisa Latynina (1956 and 1960) and Vera Caslavska (1964 and 1968) having won the all-around title twice. Her victory extends the American women’s all-around gold medal streak to six consecutive Games, a tradition that began with Carly Patterson’s gold in 2004.
At 27, Biles is the oldest female gymnast to achieve this milestone in 72 years, following Maria Gorokhovskaya, who won at age 30 during the 1952 Helsinki Games.
“Three years ago, I never thought I’d be back on a gymnastics floor due to everything that happened, but with the help of Cecile and Laurent (Landi), I got back in the gym and worked hard both mentally and physically,” Biles said after the competition.
“Even this morning at 7 a.m., I saw my therapist … It’s essential to be mentally well, and you can see that on the competition floor. It’s surreal to be considered among the greatest athletes of all time because I still see myself as Simone Biles from Spring, Texas, who just loves to flip.”
The world watched in amazement as Biles, undaunted by previous challenges, delivered a remarkable performance in Paris. She kicked off her evening on the vault with her signature Yurchenko double pike, executing it perfectly and securing an early lead of 0.666 points.
After the event, Biles admitted she hadn’t originally planned to perform the Yurchenko double pike but opted to include it for a scoring boost to distance herself from Andrade.
“I don’t want to compete with Rebeca anymore—I’m tired,” Biles joked. “She’s too close. Having an athlete so close definitely pushed me to give my best. It made me uncomfortable and stressed.” During her second rotation, Biles misjudged her Pak Salto on the uneven bars, leading to a noticeable knee bend and an extra swing to regain her rhythm.
“I’m not sure what the camera caught or what I was doing,” Biles said. “I was probably praying to every God out there, trying to refocus and re-center myself because that wasn’t the bars I’ve been training on.
Out of all the events, bars is the one I haven’t messed up during training here or back in Houston. I needed to refocus and ensure that once we moved to the beam, I could re-center and finish strong, because it’s not over until it’s over.”
Despite briefly falling in the standings, Biles bounced back on the balance beam and clinched her victory with a stunning floor routine in the final rotation. Andrade, seen as Biles’ main rival, is celebrating her achievement after helping Team Brazil secure a historic team bronze medal. She started strong with a perfect Cheng and earned her fourth Olympic medal.
“I’m just very happy and grateful,” Andrade said. “It was a tough competition. Having three days of competition (qualification, team final, and individual all-around) is demanding, but I’m very pleased with how I performed.”
Lee’s path to the all-around podium has been especially arduous. Diagnosed with two types of kidney disease in early 2023 and once told by a doctor she might never return to gymnastics, Lee’s return to the Games and her fifth Olympic medal is an incredible feat.
“It’s taken so much,” Lee said. “I didn’t think I’d make it to the podium, so it’s amazing that I was here and did everything I could. I told myself not to put pressure on myself or think about past Olympics or proving anything to anyone. I just wanted to prove to myself that I could do it, even though I didn’t think I could.”
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