United States gymnast Simone Biles won her seventh Olympic gold medal, and her third in the Paris games, with a signature performance in the women’s vault final on Saturday.
Biles averaged a score of 15.300 with her Yurchenko double pike. The vault maneuver is so difficult, that no other woman has attempted it. With a strong landing, Biles all but clinched the gold medal in the event, eight years after she won it at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.
Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade won silver in the event. American Jade Carey captured the bronze.
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Three years ago, Biles’ future in gymnastics was in question after she was forced to withdraw from the Tokyo Games citing mental health concerns.
Now, she’s once again atop the gymnastics world. Her 10 career Olympic medals are tied for the third-most by a female gymnast.
“Not many people in the world can do it to this level, so once we’re out here, the floor is our stage. It just feels so freeing for us. We’re in our element, we’re having fun and doing what we love to do,” Biles told reporters in Paris. “I think that’s why I love it so much.”
According to the Associated Press, the vault competition was over early even though Biles’ right foot touched the out-of-bounds line when she landed her Yurchenko double pike.
The judges dinged (Biles) 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.
The ensuing 14.900 meant the rest of the eight-woman field was going for second.
According to Reuters,
(Biles’) coach Laurent Landi could be seen leaping up and punching the air in delight. His reaction said it all — it was effectively game over.
Biles, 27, 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.
In a press conference Saturday, Biles was asked if the event would be the final vault of her career.
“Is this my last? Definitely the Yurchenko double pike. I mean, I kind of nailed that one,” Biles said. “Never say never. The next Olympics is at home. So you just never know.”
The 2028 Olympics will be hosted in Los Angeles.