Biles previously was the champion in the individual vault final in Rio 2016, but pulled out of the event for Tokyo 2020 after qualifying
Simone Biles has done it again!
For the third time this Paris Games, Biles, 27, is an Olympic gold medalist. Biles finished first in the women’s artistic gymnastics individual vault final on Aug. 3 at the Bercy Arena.
For Biles’ first vault she earned 15.700 with a 6.400 difficulty thanks to the Biles II — AKA a Yurchenko double pike vault. Her second vault, the Cheng vault, was 14.900 with a 5.600 difficulty level. Her average score landed at 15.300.
Her teammate Jade Carey also competed in the event, with a 14.733 on her first vault and 14.200 on her second for a 14.466 average. Carey earned the bronze medal.
Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade took the silver with 14.966. Of competing against Andrade these Games, Biles told reporters, including PEOPLE, after the final, “she’s very, very talented she’s a very powerful gymnast.”
“She does keep me on my toes but I love competing with her,” said Biles. “It’s always an honor.”
Biles previously won the gold in the vault back in Rio 2016. She qualified for the final during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but withdrew from the competition as she dealt with the twisties.
Only eight gymnasts qualified for the vault final, with Biles entering the competition in first place with a qualification score of 15.300. Carey was in the third-place spot with 14.433. Team USA’s Jordan Chiles also had a high score in the apparatus, but won’t compete in the final as only two gymnasts from each country can earn a spot.
Carey previously competed in the vault in Tokyo, but didn’t medal and ended in eighth place. In 2022, she was the world champion in the apparatus.
Earlier in this Paris Games, Carey, Biles and their teammates — Chiles, Suni Lee and Hezly Rivera — won the gold medal in the women’s team final. Then, on Aug. 1, Biles earned gold in the women’s all-around and Lee took the bronze medal.
Biles has continued to highlight the importance of therapy in her comeback these Games. In a press conference after the all-around, which PEOPLE attended, the athlete noted that she has therapy weekly — every Thursday.
“Even this morning at 7:00 A.M. I saw my therapist and there’s a time change,” said Biles. “So she is so amazing for allowing me to do that these couple of days in Paris.”
She added, “I never thought I’d be on the world stage, again, competing.”
These Games have been challenging for Carey, who was sick during the qualification round on July 28 and fell during her floor exercise routine.
Carey told Olympics.com that she had been under the weather leading up to competition. “I just have not been feeling well the past few days and haven’t been able to eat or anything,” Carey said. “I had, like, no energy today and didn’t really have a sense of what was going on in my head. So, I just kind of wanted people to know that so, they know that there’s actually something wrong.”
Source people.com
