Simone Biles earned her seventh Olympic gold medal by soaring to victory in the women’s vault final at the Paris Games on Saturday.
The 27-year-old Biles averaged 15.300 for her signature Yurchenko double pike and Cheng vaults to claim a second gold on the event eight years after she triumphed in Rio de Janeiro.
Rebeca Andrade of Brazil, who finished runner-up to Biles in the all-around final on Thursday, took silver, just ahead of American Jade Carey, who captured the bronze.
The crowd inside a packed Bercy Arena roared when Biles was introduced. Wearing a sequined red leotard, she delivered another show-stopping performance in what could be the last vault competition of her life.
She drilled her Yurchenko double pike, exploding off the block and then flipping backward twice with her hands clasped behind her knees. She landed with a big bounce — a nod to the energy she generates — with her right foot on the out-of-bounds line.
The judges dinged her a tenth of a point for that. It hardly mattered. Her score of 15.700 meant she merely needed to avoid disaster on her second vault to win. Instead, she almost stuck her Cheng, which requires a roundoff onto the springboard, then a half twist onto the block followed by 1 1/2 twists while doing a forward somersault.
The ensuing 14.900 meant the rest of the eight-woman field was going for second.
Andrade grabs 3rd Paris 2024 medal
Andrade, the vault champion in Tokyo, put together two excellent vaults to claim silver and her third medal of the Games after a silver in the all-around and a bronze in the team final. Andrade’s average of 14.966 was well clear of everyone else.
Carey, who slipped during the women’s vault final in Tokyo and finished eighth, earned her third Olympic medal to go with the floor exercise gold she won in Tokyo and the team gold she captured with Biles on Tuesday.
Biles will have two more chances to boost her medal haul in Paris. She will compete in the balance beam and floor exercise finals on Monday.
Ellie Black finishes 6th as best-ranked Canadian
Don’t call the Paris Olympics Ellie Black’s swan song.
At 28 years old, after a couple of injuries and four gruelling Olympics, questions naturally turn to the Halifax veteran’s competitive future. Black, for now, doesn’t sound ready to hang up the leotard.
“Coming into this Olympics, I feel probably the strongest that I have in a long time,” Black said Saturday at Bercy Arena in Paris, following the conclusion of the women’s vault final. “So that was amazing to be able to come into my fourth Olympics at 28 years old feeling maybe the strongest I have in a long time.”
Black wrapped up her 2024 Olympics in the vault final of the women’s artistic gymnastics, where she finished sixth. Competing with a taped left ankle, the Canadian sprang off the block for two solid vaults for an average score of 13.933.
Black said the level of difficulty in her vaults isn’t quite as high as top competitors like Biles, but said she was happy with her performance and put a positive spin on the result.
“The last time I was in an Olympic vault final was in London (in 2012) and I face-planted, so this was definitely a step up from that,” she said.
Black described the overall experience in Paris as “pretty amazing,” especially after the pandemic restrictions of the Tokyo 2020 Games.
“I think a lot about this Olympics was really just finding the joy in it, and the gratitude for the opportunity,” she said. “I feel I tried to soak it up as much as possible and I feel like we had amazing performances for Canada.”
Olsen, who struggled on the landing of the second vault, said Saturday wasn’t the performance she’d been hoping for. The 24-year-old, who was in her third Olympic vault final, also praised Black, who she said “always has my back.”
“Usually it’s just me in the vault final, so its super nice to have another Canadian alongside me, so that was really fun,” she said.
Olsen appreciates competing with Biles
Olsen said she appreciated getting the chance to compete against athletes like Biles, as well as the camaraderie between athletes on the floor.
“Some people treat Olympians like they’re not human, especially people like Simone,” she said. “She’s a crazy athlete but at the end of the day she’s still a human. It’s super nice to be out there with her and compete against her because she is one of the greats.”
Black said her feet have taken “a bit of a beating” during Paris, and reported being a little sore and bruised. But overall, her body is in relatively good shape this time, she said. As for her future, she’s taking it day by day.
“I’m looking forward to taking a rest,” she said, “but still continuing as long as my body can handle it and I’m still finding joy and I have goals I want to achieve.”
And what about the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028?
“Never rule anything out,” she said with a grin.
Source Agencies
