The 27-year-old gymnast is the first American to win the all-around gold medal twice and is the oldest to secure the title since 30-year-old Maria Gorokhovskaya in 1952
Simone Biles‘ throne in the hall of all-time great athletes has been coated with another layer of gold. The athlete made history at the 2024 Paris Olympics as she secured the gold medal in the women’s gymnastics all-around final. She previously won all-around gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
“This one feels even better than the last,” Biles told Today‘s Hoda Kotb. “I am a lot more mature so I know what my body is capable of.”
Biles is the first woman in U.S. Olympic gymnastics to win two all-around gold medals since Vera Čáslavská in 1968. The win added to her collection as the most-decorated U.S. Olympic gymnast in history with nine medals. And at 27 years old, she is also the oldest woman to secure the all-around title since 30-year-old Maria Gorokhovskaya, of the Soviet Union, in 1952.
Biles completed the final with a score of 59.131, followed closely behind by Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade who finished with 57.931. The Team USA gymnast experienced a minor setback when her routine on the uneven bars resulted in deductions that placed her behind two of her competitors, Andrade and Taylia Nemour. But Biles recovered quickly, deploying a number of moves that carry her namesake and shifting back into first place with stellar beam and floor routines.
Standing on the podium, Biles was in good company. Andrade clutched a silver medal while fellow Team USA athlete Suni Lee — who won all-around gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics— secured the bronze medal with a total score of 56.465. Lee and Biles celebrated a gold win together earlier this week as their cohort, completed by Jade Carey, Jodan Chiles, and Hezly Rivera, dominated the team all-around final.
Biles will compete three more times over the coming days in the individual vault, bean, and floor finals.
The Paris Olympics have marked a major comeback moment for Biles, who pulled out of several individual and team competitions in the Tokyo Olympics after suffering from disorienting “twisties.” Speaking with press during the recent U.S. Olympic trials, she said: “I knew I wasn’t done after the performances in Tokyo. This is definitely our redemption tour. I feel like we all have more to give.”