Simone Biles earned her seventh Olympic gold medal by soaring to victory in the women's vault final at the Paris Games on Saturday.
With her signature Biles II vault, Simone Biles earned the higher score of two. The element, also known as the Yurchenko double pike, is not only very dangerous and super difficult to land, but is the same move that beset Biles with a sudden case of the "twisties" during the Tokyo Olympics. The affliction forced her to withdraw from most of her events that summer, including the vault final.
On Saturday, eight years after she triumphed in Rio de Janeiro, the most decorated American gymnast claimed her second gold in the event.
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Biles is the second woman to win vault twice, joining Vera Casalavska of Czechoslovakia as a two-time gold medalist on the vault. Casalavska went back to back in 1964 and 1968. 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. Saturday's gold is her third medal of the Paris Games.
Rebeca Andrade of Brazil is taking the silver and American Jade Carey will take home the bronze.
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, also known as the Biles I, 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.
The ensuing 14.900 meant the rest of the eight-woman field was going for second.
Biles entered the vault finals among the favorites again but faced a tough challenge from Andrade, the defending Olympic champion in the event.
The Brazilian sensation and vault champion in Tokyo did not try her new element but landed two excellent vaults, including a strong Cheng. That earned her an average score of 14.966 points to claim the silver, her third medal of the Paris Games after a silver in the all-around and a bronze in the team final.
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.
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What events does Simone Biles have left to compete in?
Here is the finals schedule for the U.S. women's gymnastics star based on qualifications:
- Aug. 5 - Women's balance beam finals: The women's balance beam finals begins at 6:36 a.m. ET/3:36 a.m. PT on Monday, Aug. 5. The event will air on E! and Peacock.
- Aug. 5 - Women's floor exercise finals: The women's floor exercise final begins at 8:20 a.m. ET/5:20 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 5. The event will air on NBC and Peacock.
Why isn't Simone Biles competing in the uneven bars?
Uneven bars has been considered Biles' weakest event. She didn't qualify outright to compete in the individual uneven bars event this weekend, so she'll likely sit out. Biles qualified in ninth place, meaning she is considered a “reserve athlete."
On Thursday, Biles botched a transition on the uneven bars, and as a result lost an early lead in the all-around finals. She rebounded by pulling off the extremely difficult Yurchenko double pike vault.
