Simone Biles secured her seventh Olympic gold medal with a stunning victory in the women’s vault final at the Paris Games on Saturday.
The 27-year-old gymnast averaged 15.300 for her signature Yurchenko double pike and Cheng vaults, capturing her second gold in the event eight years after her triumph in Rio de Janeiro.
Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, who finished runner-up to Biles in the all-around final on Thursday, took silver, narrowly edging out American Jade Carey, who earned the bronze.
Biles is now the second woman to win the vault event twice, joining Vera Caslavska of Czechoslovakia, who claimed back-to-back golds in 1964 and 1968. With this victory, Biles now has 10 Olympic medals in her career, tying her for the third most by a female gymnast. She has also amassed 40 medals at major international competitions, the most by any gymnast.
The crowd at a packed Bercy Arena erupted when Biles was introduced. Clad in a sequined red leotard, she delivered a spectacular performance in what could be her final vault competition.
She executed her Yurchenko double pike flawlessly, launching off the block and flipping backward twice with her hands clasped behind her knees. Although she landed with a significant bounce, with her right foot on the out-of-bounds line, the judges only deducted a tenth of a point. Her score of 15.700 meant she only needed a solid second vault to clinch the win. Instead, she nearly stuck her Cheng, which involves a roundoff onto the springboard, a half twist onto the block, and 1 1/2 twists during a forward somersault.
Her ensuing score of 14.900 left the rest of the eight-woman field competing for second place.
Andrade, the vault champion in Tokyo, performed two excellent vaults to secure silver and her third medal of the Games, following a silver in the all-around and a bronze in the team final. Andrade’s average score of 14.966 was well ahead of the rest of the competitors.
Carey, who had slipped during the women’s vault final in Tokyo and finished eighth, earned her third Olympic medal. She previously won a gold in the floor exercise in Tokyo and a team gold with Biles on Tuesday.
