Biles lands gold in women's all-around; Lee wins bronze

Simone Biles and Sunisa Lee celebrate together after winning gold and bronze respectively in the women's all-around final. 

Simone Biles proved again that she is the greatest gymnast of all time at the Paris Summer Olympics on Thursday night. The Texas native finished the women’s all-around final, taking the gold medal by nearly two points. Rebeca Andrade of Brazil won the silver and Sunisa Lee won the bronze. It was the third time two Americans ended up on the podium in the Olympics. 

For the first time in Olympic gymnastics history, two former champions of the all-around competition competed against one another, potentially becoming the first two-time gold medalist in the event. Biles won the gold in the event eight years ago in Rio, while Lee stood out as the reigning Olympic gold medalist. Both gymnasts competed on the same apparatus rotation, making each move they made crucial. 

Lee was the first to go on the vault, scoring 13.933 but was soon eclipsed by Andrade, who earned 15.100. Biles delivered an explosive vault that got her 15.766, with a difficulty rating of 6.4. It was the highest difficulty rating on the apparatus, earning her the top spot at the end of the first rotation. 

Their next apparatus was the uneven bars, which Andrade excelled on, giving her a shot at being the scoring leader. She got her routine underway, putting on a clean run through the bars, and had a small hop on the landing. The judges scored her 14.666, right before Biles got 13.733 on a routine that saw her take an extra swing. The judges took the addition into account, including barely avoiding touching the floor. 

Nemour left no one surprised after her incredible bars routine, scoring 15.533, putting her behind Andrade for second and in front of Biles. Lee went last, earning 14.866 after delivering technical finesse in her routine, getting her within a point of the four ahead. The third rotation took the Americans to the balance beam, with Biles going first. 

The 27-year-old did not perform the Biles two, but received 14.566, getting her back to first place. Lee posted a score of 14.000, having had small errors in her routine, but reached closer to Italy’s Alice D’Amato. Algieria’s Kaylia Nemour inquired about her score and found herself tied for third with Lee. 

Andrade went last for the group, starting the beam with a lower difficulty rating but managed 14.133, moving her back into second place. All left for the girls was the floor exercise, and the Italians went first to close the competition. D’Amato got 13.5, leaving her to wait desperately for everyone else to finish and see where she ends up. She did not get enough to find her way to the podium, with Lee, Biles, and Andrade left to compete. 

The 21-year-old American improved her routine from the team finals, earning 13.666. It moved her into first, followed by Andrade’s performance, seeing her step out of bounds. It did not affect her chances of a medal, putting her ahead of Lee for the silver medal. Biles was the last gymnast to go and needed a clean routine to win the gold. 13.867 was all the American needed, earning 15.066 to clinch it for the second time in history. 

Biles became the oldest woman since the 1952 Helsinki Games to win gold in gymnastics. Lee and Biles marked the third time that both Americans medaled in the event since 2008. Biles had six gold medals in her career, leaving her the most decorated gymnast in Olympic history.