Simone Biles dominated the vault final to claim her third gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The American gymnastics superstar reclaimed the title she first won at Rio 2016, solidifying her status as one of the greatest athletes of all time.
After helping the U.S. secure the women’s team gold and then capturing the all-around title, the 27-year-old Biles reclaimed another title she first won at Rio 2016, having lost them in Tokyo when she withdrew from several events.
Biles executed her signature Biles II vault flawlessly before sticking to her ‘easier’ vault—whose difficulty surpasses many competitors’ best efforts—earning an average score of 15.300.
Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, the only gymnast with skills comparable to Biles and the reigning Tokyo champion, took silver with a score of 14.966. American Jade Carey secured bronze with a score of 14.466.
Following her all-around victory two days earlier, Biles admitted that facing Andrade was “stressful” as she is the only gymnast who has ever pushed her closely, jokingly adding that she did not want to face her again.
There was speculation that Andrade might attempt a new skill she had submitted—a triple-twisting Yurchenko vault with a difficulty value close to Biles’ best vault—but it did not materialize.
The 25-year-old Andrade, who outperformed Biles on this apparatus at last year’s World Championships, delivered well-executed vaults. She scored higher than Biles for execution on both vaults, but with difficulty values a full mark lower than Biles’ efforts, Andrade’s chances hinged on a rare mistake from the American.
With this victory, Biles became the third most decorated female gymnast with 10 Olympic medals. With two more finals on Monday—floor and beam—she can surpass second-placed Vera Caslavska, who won 11 medals for Czechoslovakia between 1960 and 1968. The all-time record of 18 medals is held by Soviet Union gymnast Larisa Latynina.
