Simone Biles has clinched her third gold medal at the Paris Games, taking first place in the women’s artistic gymnastics individual vault final on August 3 at the Bercy Arena. Biles, 27, dazzled the judges with her first vault, a Biles II (Yurchenko double pike), scoring 15.700 with a difficulty of 6.400. Her second vault, the Cheng vault, earned her a 14.900 score with a 5.600 difficulty. Her impressive performances averaged to a score of 15.300.
Biles’ teammate, Jade Carey, also delivered a strong performance, scoring 14.733 on her first vault and 14.200 on her second, resulting in an average of 14.466 and securing the bronze medal. Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade won the silver medal with a score of 14.966. Biles praised Andrade’s skills, saying, “She’s very, very talented; she’s a very powerful gymnast. She does keep me on my toes, but I love competing with her. It’s always an honor.”
This victory marks Biles’ return to the top of the podium in the vault event since her gold medal win in Rio 2016. She had qualified for the vault final at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics but withdrew due to experiencing the “twisties.”
Only eight gymnasts qualified for the vault final, with Biles entering as the top qualifier and Carey in third. Unfortunately, Team USA’s Jordan Chiles, who had also qualified, could not compete due to the two-gymnast-per-country rule.
Carey’s bronze medal in Paris is a significant achievement, especially after her eighth-place finish in the vault at the Tokyo Olympics. She previously won the world championship in the apparatus in 2022. Despite facing challenges, including a recent illness that affected her performance during qualifications, Carey persevered to secure her place on the podium.
Biles, who has been open about her mental health journey, continues to emphasize the importance of therapy. In a press conference, she shared that she has weekly therapy sessions, even coordinating them around her competition schedule in Paris.
Biles’ husband, Jonathan Owens, celebrated her latest win with a proud post, saying, “Just another reminder that my wife is THE SHIT 🔥🥇.”
The success of Team USA in gymnastics continues to shine, with Biles and Carey leading the way.
