Simone Biles reached the top of the podium yet again, cementing her legacy as the greatest American gymnast and one of the best athletes in the history of the Olympics.
Biles helped the United States win the women's team event Tuesday to secure her fifth Olympic gold medal and put the U.S. back on top of the sport after a second-place finish three years ago in Tokyo.
Her attention now turns to Thursday's all-around finals event.
Biles became the most decorated American gymnast in front of a crowd that included Nicole Kidman, Natalie Portman, Serena Williams, Spike Lee, Michael Phelps and Nadia Comaneci at a raucous Bercy Arena.
It was the eighth Olympic medal for the 27-year-old Biles, who was previously tied with Shannon Miller at seven.
The self-described “Redemption Tour," the moniker given to a team filled with women who wanted to return to the Games for deeply personal reasons, ended with Biles and the Americans where they have almost always been since she burst onto the scene 11 years ago: on top of the podium, the rest of the world looking up.
Eight years after winning gold in Rio with a group that called Aly Raisman grandma because she was all of 22, Biles — now 27 and married — was back again with Jade Carey (24), Chiles (23), Lee (21) and teenager Hezly Rivera at her side.
“We don’t have to be put in the box anymore,” Biles said.
After a dominant performance in qualifying, Biles was once again sensational as she led her team to the gold medal in the women's team competition. Here's a breakdown of her scores:
- Vault: 14.900 (5.600 in difficulty, 9.300 in execution)
- Uneven bars: 14.400 (6.200 in difficulty, 8.200 in execution)
- Floor: 14.666
- Beam: 14.366 (6.400 in difficulty, 7.966 in execution)
Biles clinched the gold with a dazzling performance in the final floor exercise, which put the U.S. (171.296) well ahead of silver-medalist Italy (165.494) and bronze-medalist Brazil (164.497).
She now has a staggering 38 medals in major international competitions. Eight of those have come under the Olympic rings, moving her past Shannon Miller for the most by an American gymnast.
