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A flick of the wrist and a beaming smile, Simone Biles’s comeback was complete. The same Biles, yet even better to land a sixth Olympic gold medal and a ninth in total at the Games.
This performance was majestic, yet there was added tension with each of the four apparatuses. And it was not a stroll, either, as the sublime Rebeca Andrade ensured a battle until the very end, before settling for a brilliant silver. Yet even the Brazilian had to applaud after Biles’ floor routine. It was too good, each time Biles was asked to respond to the pressure, she did so with aplomb; a remarkable transformation from the ‘the twisties’ in Tokyo.
“I am ecstatic at my performances. I was worried about Rebeca, it was neck and neck all the way through, but I’m so glad she pushed me,” Biles remarked before acknowledging her psychological training to return to this stage.
“I don’t think I’d be here if I didn’t put the mental work in. I saw my therapist today at 7am, she’s a goat as well, I’m excited to work with her. I’m going to take it day by day now, the hard part is done, so let’s have some fun.”
The vault was first up for Simone Biles, the source of those demons three years ago, yet she has long since dispensed of any fears that they would reemerge. Immediately you could see this was a different Biles to three years ago, no matter the performance and any blemishes, she carried herself with pride throughout a captivating evening of gymnastics. Biles did not wait long to delight the crowd at Arena Bercy, nailing the perilous, audacious Biles II move before galloping off the mat in a hurry.
A smirk defied the risk taken to perform the Yurchenko double-pike so early in the pursuit of history at Paris 2024. The first woman to do so at the Olympics, this was a gamble from Biles, yet the payoff was immediate and proved decisive.
Her back handspring onto the table was delivered with both precision and an explosion of power before two backward flips. Her fingertips tucked gently behind the knees, encouraging those mesmeric rotations.
That reward, then? 15.766 points scored after one rotation, despite the imperfect landing. The highest scoring vault in the women’s code, starting with a lofty score of 6.40, ensured an immediate statement from Biles.
Yet a gritty Andrade refused to go away and immediately applied the pressure on her illustrious rival with a sensational performance on the uneven bars. Biles stepped up to reply, but a gasp quickly spread around the arena after a shock error. Her knees bent and barely remained connected. Biles remarked afterward: “I don’t even know how I held onto that.” But this is a steely version of Biles and the response was magnificent, limiting the damage to glue her feet to the mat in a flawless dismount.
Despite the recovery, though, Biles would trail at the halfway stage, briefly dropping down to third thanks to the spectacular 17-year-old Algerian Kaylia Nemour. A master on this group’s second apparatus, posting a lofty 15.333, she demonstrated why this final had substance beyond the glittering head-to-head battle of Biles v Andrade. Fifth-placed in qualification, Nemour would delight the home crowd, despite representing Algeria in pursuit of a first-ever gymnastics medal for Africa.
Under the circumstances, she handled the pressure superbly, given the controversy clouding her decision to represent Algeria. Born and raised in France, a feud with the French Gymnastics Federation over an injury saw her switch. But France’s loss is Algeria’s gain.
Sunisa Lee, too, provided a compelling watch, emerging as the second favourite behind Biles and sparking wild cheers throughout. The reigning champion from Tokyo may have been an outsider for gold here, yet her mere presence was worthy of another Olympic title given the adversity experienced on the road to Paris 2024. She has overcome serious kidney illness, while she also had multiple stalkers in the build-up to Paris. Bronze was thoroughly deserved in the end.
There was a swagger from Biles throughout, accepting her imperfect performance on the uneven bars and responding on the beam: The triple wolf turn and then a moment of doubt, but quick connections and a full-twisting double back rectified the moment. Biles clapped her hands in delight and Andrade applauded too as a score of 14.566 delivered a slim lead of 0.166 over Andrade heading into the floor.
The tension was palpable. Yet the spectators were fixated to the glistening canary leotard, as Andrade bounced around on the floor, ensuring a gripping end. Yet one minor blemish, after a large step on the double pike, limited her final score to just 14.033, handing the floor to Biles.
She revelled in every second of the minutes that followed, soaking in the praise before posting 15.066 points and 59.131 points in total. The margin of victory extended to more than a point in the end, yet Biles knew Andrade had helped her to discover a different side to her. The first woman to win multiple Olympic all-around titles since Czech gymnast Vera Caslavska in 1964 and 1968, Biles is back and greater than ever.
