Simone Biles could claim her ninth Olympic medal in Thursday’s all-around final two days after leading the USA women’s team to a gymnastics team gold in Paris.
Biles is the big favourite coming into the event after qualifying for the final by a healthy margin, and the drama may centre on the race for silver featuring a Tokyo rematch between defending champion Sunisa Lee of USA and Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade.
Lee held off Andrade for gold in the Tokyo all-around final, from which Biles withdrew due to a potentially dangerous mental block known as the “twisties”.
Andrade’s all-around score of 57.700 from Sunday’s qualification in Paris is the highest total posted by any woman this year aside from Biles, safely ahead of Lee’s qualifying score of 56.132.
But Lee is capable of a balance beam routine 0.7 points higher than her qualifying effort, putting pressure on Andrade to repeat her strong preliminary showing.
Another set of talented gymnasts is nipping at the favourites’ heels.
Breakout 17-year-old Algerian star Kaylia Nemour, known for her daredevil combinations on the asymmetric bars, qualified for the all-around final in fourth with a 55.966 and reigning European all-around champion Manila Esposito of Italy, also 17, was just behind on 55.898.
But China’s Qiu Qiyuan, who qualified in seventh with a disappointing total of 54.998, could also threaten. She suffered a fall and other missteps on the balance beam, where she has world-class difficulty, earning her a score almost two points below her likely target.
The USA women have captured the last five Olympic all-around titles, and an American woman also took silver in both 2008 and 2016.
‘Phew! No flashbacks or anything’
Biles’s teammates say she is a different person than the one who abruptly pulled out of the Tokyo Games three years ago amid a mental health crisis.
Standing at the end of the runway before her vault, Biles said she was not haunted by the memories of her tumultuous time in Tokyo and was soon soaring high as she executed the Cheng vault that helped lift the US into a lead they would not relinquish.
“After I finished vault, I was relieved because, phew, there were no flashbacks or anything,” Biles told an overflowing news conference.
On Tuesday, as soon as Biles had nailed her vault, she knew the Americans were destined to reassert their gymnastics supremacy on the world’s biggest stage.
“As soon as I landed vault, I was like, oh yeah, we’re definitely going to do this.”
Her teammate and close friend Jordan Chiles said she too was relieved.
“I was thinking, hallelujah, no flashbacks, no nothing,” Chiles said with a laugh.
From there, the veteran team joyfully celebrated each other’s accomplishments as they made their way around four rotations at Bercy Arena, in the end easily eclipsing silver medallists Italy by almost six points. Brazil finished with the bronze.
“It was super exciting,” said an ever-smiling Biles, who was seen breaking into some dance moves with Chiles on the sidelines as they celebrated completing yet another impressive performance.
“We had fun, we enjoyed each other’s time out there and just did our gymnastics.”
After Tokyo, Biles, 27, took a two-year break from the sport to focus on herself and has since reemerged happier, healthier and better than ever.
“I started off with therapy this morning, and I told her [the therapist] I was feeling calm and ready. And that’s exactly what happened,” she said.
Chiles said she was proud to witness Biles’s growth.
“You can definitely tell that she’s a different person from Tokyo than she is now,” said Chiles.
“I always love to say I train with the GOAT of all GOATs. She’s always going to be in my heart no matter what.”