Simone Biles once again ascended to the pinnacle of gymnastics, leading Team USA to gold at the women’s team gymnastics final at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Tuesday.
Biles is now the most decorated U.S. Olympic gymnast in history, with eight medals (five of them gold) to her name. The U.S. women’s gymnastics team — Biles, Sunisa “Suni” Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and newcomer Hezly Rivera (who didn’t compete in Tuesday’s final) — are now the fourth U.S. team to win an Olympic gold medal.
After facing significant challenges at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, including a bout with the twisties that led to her withdrawal in the middle of the competition, Biles returned this year with a mission to win gold, playfully calling Paris the team’s “redemption” tour after they took home silver in Tokyo.
It was a nail-biting victory on Tuesday. Despite a minor hiccup when Chiles fell off the balance beam, the team’s spirits remained high. Lee quickly restored their momentum, and when Biles completed her beam routine, her husband, Jonathan Owens, who had flown overnight to support her, waved a U.S. flag in joyous celebration. The night culminated with Biles’s signature floor routine, a performance that gave no hint of her earlier calf injury.
Biles competed in all four team events — vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise. While the victory marks her first gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, she could easily win as many as four more when she competes Thursday in the individual all-around final, where her biggest competitor is teammate Lee, who won the gold at the Tokyo Olympics.
This gold medal wasn’t just a win but a personal victory for Biles. Take a look at Team USA’s victorious Olympic moments.
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