Simone Biles has once again proven she is the greatest gymnast of all time by winning the all-around gymnastics title at the Paris Olympics.
This victory marks her second gold medal in Paris and her sixth overall Olympic gold.
At 27 years old, Biles is the oldest gymnast to win the all-around Olympic title in 72 years. She had previously won this title at the Rio 2016 Olympics. Despite pulling out of the Tokyo 2020 Games, Biles made a spectacular return to the top.
Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade won the silver medal, while defending champion Sunisa Lee took bronze.
Biles celebrated her victory by wearing a sparkling goat necklace, symbolizing her status as the “Greatest of All Time.” “It’s a little ode… a lot of people love it. They always call me the GOAT, so I thought it would be really special if I got one made,” she said.
“I’ve never been so stressed before – thank you Rebeca,” Biles admitted. She also shared her feelings about the competition: “I’ve never had an athlete that close – it definitely put me on my toes and brought out the best athlete in myself.”
Biles’ performance on Thursday was impressive. She started with her challenging ‘Biles II’ vault and overcame a mistake on the uneven bars. “Thank God we did the double pike today [on vault] as I wasn’t planning on it,” Biles said.
Despite trailing after two rotations, Biles performed a strong routine on the beam, scoring 14.566. She finished her performance with a flawless routine on the floor, scoring 15.066. Her total score of 59.131 put her 1.199 points ahead of Andrade.
Biles now has a total of 39 medals, including both world and Olympic titles. She is set to compete in the finals for vault, beam, and floor in the coming days.
“I’m super proud of my performance and the fight that I’ve had for the last three years – mentally and physically – just to get back,” Biles said of her victory.
