Simone Biles secured the seventh gold medal of her historic Olympic career with victory in the vault final on Saturday.
In front of a star-studded crowd that included actor John Travolta, track star Allyson Felix, artists Pharrell and Flavor Flav, her teammates and her parents, the 27-year-old gymnastics star averaged 15.3 for her signature Yurchenko double pike and Cheng vaults to claim a second gold on the event eight years after she trumped in Rio.
It means Biles, who is already the most decorated gymnast in history, is now only the second woman to win two vault crowns after Vera Casalavska, of Czechoslovakia (1984 and 1968).
The American has now won three gold medals in Paris, having already secured victory in the team finals and the individual all-around competition. Her teammate Jade Carey secured bronze, with Brazil’s Rebecca Andrade taking the silver medal.
Biles now has 10 Olympic medals in her career, tied for the third most by a female gymnast. She also boosted her medal count at major international competitions to 40, the most by any gymnast.
OH WOW. 🤩
Simone Biles just NAILED this vault in the final! #ParisOlympics
📺 NBC, E! and Peacock pic.twitter.com/fgFeDjZuQg
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 3, 2024
The crowd inside a packed Bercy Arena roared when Biles was introduced. Wearing a sequined red leotard, she delivered another show-stopping performance in what could be the last vault competition of her life.
She drilled her Yurchenko double pike, exploding off the block and then flipping backward twice with her hands clasped behind her knees. She landed with a big bounce — a nod to the energy she generates — with her right foot on the out-of-bounds line.
The judges dinged her a tenth of a point for that. It hardly mattered. Her score of 15.700 meant she merely needed to avoid disaster on her second vault to win.
Instead, she almost stuck her Cheng, which requires a roundoff onto the springboard, then a half twist onto the block followed by 1 1/2 twists while doing a forward somersault.
Greatness, all-around @Simone_Biles 🏅
Simone Biles secures her 6th Olympic gold medal. More than any American gymnast, male or female, in history. #ThatsAW pic.twitter.com/R02ohNACao
— espnW (@espnW) August 1, 2024
The ensuing 14.900 meant the rest of the eight-woman field was going for second.
Andrade, the vault champion in Tokyo, put together two excellent vaults to claim silver and her third medal of the Games after a silver in the all-around and a bronze in the team final. Andrade’s average of 14.966 was well clear of everyone else.
Carey, who slipped during the women’s vault final in Tokyo and finished eighth, earned her third Olympic medal to go with the floor exercise gold she won in Tokyo and the team gold she captured with Biles on Tuesday.
Biles will have two more chances to boost her medal haul in Paris. She will compete in the balance beam and floor exercise finals on Monday.
