After winning gold in the individual all-around and helping the US to a dominant win in team all-around, Simone Biles picked up her third gold medal in five days at the Paris Olympics in the vault on Saturday.
Biles entered the final among the favourites, but faced a tough challenge from Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, who won gold in the event at the Tokyo Olympics and is the only gymnast who has ever “stressed out” the American superstar.
Stressed or not, Biles put on a stunning performance at Bercy Arena. She earned a score of 15.700, nailing her namesake vault the Yurchenko double pike, or Biles II, the hardest vault in women’s gymnastics.
Andrade had teased a new signature vault that could have drawn her level with Biles, but she opted instead to play it safe. Andrade finished with a score of 14.966 after landing a high-level 15.100 Cheng in her opening vault. America’s Jade Carey took the bronze with a 14.446.
It’s been a week of redemption for Biles. Three years after she withdrew from the Tokyo Games after suffering with “the twisties,” which began while she was performing the vault, Biles has restored herself to the top of the Olympic podium.
With three golds in five days, Biles has taken her overall Olympic medal count to ten, including seven golds. Biles, 27, has more Olympic medals than any American gymnast in history.
And there could be more to come. Biles will close out her Olympic programme with the balance beam final on Sunday and the floor exercise final on Monday.
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