Simone Biles once again left the world in awe after capturing gold in the women’s vault at the Paris Games. Saturday’s victory in Paris assures the 25-year-old her third gold of the Games and her seventh overall in her stellar Olympic career. An open, powerful opening vault from Biles set the tone. Her second was a Cheng that sealed her victory with an average score of 15.300. By the end of that night, Biles, red-glowing and beaming with pride, was a legend. She has 30 golds among her 40 world and Olympic medals, and there are more events ahead of her.
Simone Biles Shines in Vault
Simone Biles showed her usual skill and style. She nailed her Biles II vault, a trick so tough it’s named after her. Then she did her ‘easier’ vault, which is harder than what most others use. She scored an average of 15.300, highlighting her top-level performance. It was clear to see how well she handled such challenging routines. At the vault final, it was so tightly contested.
Rebeca Andrade of Brazil, a gymnast with nearly as high a skill level as Biles, took silver with 14.966. Jade Carey of the United States collected bronze with 14.466. Biles triumphed in the battle against all the other good female gymnasts in the all-around field. Biles frequently expressed the pressure of facing Andrade in competition. With the all-around title under her belt, she commented that such a face-off was most challenging as the only gymnast who had almost carried the day over Biles.
Simone Biles: Nearing Gymnastics Milestone
All eyes were now on Rebeca Andrade, who was to do a new skill in her vault final, a triple-twisting Yurchenko, which, had it been done, would have rivaled Simone Biles in terms of the difficulty levels. She decided not to use this new skill in the final. The remaining vaults did see her perform well. Andrade had higher execution scores than Biles, showing grace and technical skill. But with lower difficulty scores, she needed Biles to make mistakes to win, which didn’t happen.
Biles landed both her vaults smoothly and won the gold with her usual power and elegance. The gold medal brings her total to 10 Olympic medals, making Biles the third-most decorated female gymnast in history. It was just one of many quite remarkable performances in Paris that have punctuated her remarkable career, and she’ll also compete in the floor and beam finals on Monday. The 28-year-old Biles is now within striking distance of Vera Caslavska’s record 11 medals.
Simone Biles: Chasing 18 Medals
The all-time Olympic record for gymnastics medals belonged to Larisa Latynina of the Soviet Union with 18 medals. Biles is getting closer to this record with every competition. Each event she has entered seems to be a moment in history because her immense talent and hard work inspire other gymnasts around the world. Simone Biles winning the vault at the Paris Olympics was simply a statement piece for the skills, strength, and love she has for gymnastics.
Bumpy challenges, in triumph, get her to the top. She is not a gymnast but a legend-maker in the eyes of the world, that continues to follow her greatness, which it witnesses. She has won applause for her determined nature, dedication, and unwavering love for the sport. Still in the process of breaking and setting new records, Simone Biles inspires athletes and many of her fans worldwide.
