Simone Biles secured her third gold medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, triumphing in the vault final with her signature routine, the Biles II. This event marked a significant moment for the gymnast, who previously had to withdraw from competing in the vault during the Tokyo Olympics due to the mental health phenomenon known as the “twisties.”
On Saturday, Biles dazzled the audience and judges with her performance, which she described as potentially her last competitive vault. “Is this my last? Definitely the Yurchenko double pike. I mean, I kind of nailed that one,” she remarked, though she acknowledged the possibility of returning for future competitions, particularly with the next Olympics being held in the United States.
In the vault final, gymnasts were scored based on the average of two routines. Biles executed her Biles II vault — a complex combination of a cartwheel into a backward handspring followed by two full flips while maintaining a pike position. Although she typically struggles to stick the landing, she achieved a score of 15.7 for the Biles II, despite a slight deduction for stepping out of bounds. Her additional vault scored 14.9, resulting in a final score of 15.3, surpassing her nearest rival, Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade.
Andrade, a strong competitor who claimed gold in the Tokyo Olympics after Biles’ withdrawal, secured her third medal of the Paris Games with a silver in the vault final. Another American gymnast, Jade Carey, took home the bronze with a score of 14.466.
With two events left to compete in Paris — the balance beam and floor exercise finals — Biles has the opportunity to equal her impressive medal tally from the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she won four golds and one bronze. As speculation about her retirement circulates, Biles, at 27, continues to enjoy her time in the sport. “We’re in our element, we’re having fun, we’re doing what we love to do,” she said, while also acknowledging the increasing awareness and fear that comes with age in a sport that demands high physicality and precision.