Simone Biles’ appetite to collect gold medals showed no sign of waning as she soared above her rivals in the vault final on Saturday to scoop a third top prize at the Paris Olympics, while Ireland and the Philippines enjoyed a historic day in gymnastics.
Three years after it looked like Biles’ gymnastics career was all but over after she was forced to withdraw from the Tokyo Games to protect her mental health, she has now won all three women’s titles that have been up for grabs in the City of Love.
Following her success in the team and all around finals earlier on the week, the American was again the standout performer on the vault as she beat Brazilian rival Rebeca Andrade with an average score of 15.300 points from her two vaults. Fellow American Jade Carey took bronze.
While Biles Olympic stockpile now features 10 medals, including seven golds, Carlos Edriel Yulo of the Philippines and Ireland’s Rhys McClenaghan earned their countries their first ever gymnastics medals, with both men striking gold.
Yulo punched the air with both fists after he finished his virtuoso floor exercise routine to score 15.000 points, edging out Tokyo champion Artem Dolgopyat of Israel by just 0.034 of a point. Britain’s Jake Jarman claimed the bronze. McClenaghan closed his eyes tight and smiled after gliding through his challenging pommel horse routine to hold off a talented field that included silver medallist Nariman Kurbanov of Kazakhstan and bronze finisher Stephen Nedoroscik of the U.S. The Irishman was awarded 15.533.
But as has been the case during these Olympics, all eyes and cameras were focused on a 4-ft-8 American gymnast.
Biles took a deep breath before powering down the runway to launch into her signature Biles II vault, one that no other women has ever landed in competition.
As soon as she touched down standing on both feet, albeit with a slight hop backwards, her coach Laurent Landi could be seen leaping up and punching the air in delight. His reaction said it all — it was effectively game over.
Biles said Landi helped steady her nerves before her explosive Yurchenko double pike vault that earned her a monster score of 15.700.
“Laurent was signalling like, calm down, take your time, just so that I don’t overpower it,” Biles told reporters.
“Because obviously once you get up there, your adrenaline is pumping. So he wanted to make sure that I was staying calm and going on my own time, even though everybody started cheering, he’s just like, calm down, wait. You’re good.”
Another world
Wearing a radiant red leotard, the American also impressed with her second effort.
Biles’ brilliance left Andrade once again looking up to her on the podium with another silver medal after they also finished 1-2 in Thursday’s all-around final.
“Simone is from another world but we always try to get better and evolve in the best way possible,” Andrade said.
“To be able to watch her incredible gymnastics, it encourages everyone.”
Carey delivered two confident vaults on Saturday to make amends for her last-place finish in the Tokyo vault final.
“This medal means everything to me,” Carey said.
“I have been anticipating this day for a really long time… So to be able to just prove to myself that I can do two vaults… and walk away with a medal is really special for me.”
Biles’ impact is not only confined to gymnastics as she also sparked a conversation about mental health after pulling out of the Tokyo Games.
Suffering with the “twisties” – a type of mental block where gymnasts get disoriented during their gravity-defying sequences – Biles took a two-year break from the sport.
Now that she is back, she is once again the dominant force in gymnastics.
Biles arrived in Paris as the world’s most decorated gymnast and she has reached new heights as she now owns an incredible 40 world and Olympic medals.
Biles can add to her medal tally further when she competes in the balance beam and women’s floor finals on Monday.
The 27-year-old did not rule out the possibility of competing at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“Never say never,” Biles said.
“The next Olympics is at home, so you just never know. But I am getting really old.”
Yulo collapsed to the ground in tears when he realised he had secured the gold, a feat that also earned him a new home. Filipino gold medallists at the Paris Games have been promised a fully furnished, two-bedroom condominium in Taguig City.
“I don’t know what to say,” said an emotional Yulo, who just missed the podium at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
“We are a really small country… So to be able to get a gold medal for us is big for us, huge. I dedicate this to the Filipino people who supported me.”
McClenaghan, 25, shed tears of joy standing on the podium as the Irish flag was raised at Bercy Arena.
“I knew that I’d done my job,” he said of the moment he hit his dismount.
“I knew I went through my most difficult routine that I could do on this day and that’s where the tears and the emotions came from.
“Any one of those eight finalists could have taken that gold today.”
Kurbanov’s silver was also the first gymnastics medal for Kazakhstan.