Simone Biles Wins Third Gold at 2024 Olympics with Signature Vault

PARIS — In 2021, gymnast Simone Biles captivated the gymnastics world when she debuted her incredibly challenging vault, the Biles II. This remarkable routine, showcasing her unmatched skill, became a symbol of her athletic prowess.

However, Biles faced a significant setback at the Tokyo Olympics when the “twisties” — a sudden loss of air awareness — prevented her from competing in most events, including the vault final.

On Saturday, Biles’ deferred dream became a reality. She executed the Biles II in the Olympic vault final, earning her third gold medal of the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. This might have been her last performance of the Biles II in competition, Biles hinted when asked if it was the final vault of her career.

“Is this my last? Definitely the Yurchenko double pike. I mean, I kind of nailed that one,” Biles said. “Never say never. The next Olympics is at home. So you just never know.”

Biles performed two vaults, with her final score being the average of the two. The Biles II, her highest-scoring vault, involved a sprint down the runway, a cartwheel into a backward handspring onto the vaulting table (a Yurchenko), and a high push-off into the air to complete two flips in a pike position. Despite its difficulty, Biles often takes a step or two upon landing due to the immense momentum generated.

Officially named after her in 2023 when she first landed it at an international competition, the Yurchenko double pike is the most difficult vault in women’s gymnastics, with a difficulty score of 6.4 points. On Saturday, Biles’ Biles II vault earned a 15.7, slightly reduced by a tenth of a point for stepping out of bounds. Her second vault scored 14.9, resulting in a final score of 15.3, just ahead of Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade.

Andrade, considered the second-best gymnast in the world, claimed silver. She had won gold at the Tokyo Olympics following Biles’ withdrawal and bested Biles in vault at last year’s World Championships. Saturday’s silver was Andrade’s third medal of these Games, adding to her silver in the individual all-around and bronze in the team event earlier in the week.

“I’ve never had an athlete that close, so it definitely put me on my toes,” Biles said Thursday. “It brought out the best athlete in myself, so I’m excited and proud to compete with her.”

American gymnast Jade Carey won the bronze medal with a final score of 14.466.

Biles still has two events remaining in Paris, the balance beam and floor exercise finals, giving her a chance to match her medal haul from the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, where she won four golds and a bronze as a 19-year-old.

As her 2024 Olympic journey draws to a close, Biles is already facing questions about retirement. At 27, she is older than most of her competitors and will be 31 when the 2028 Olympics take place.

For now, she’s enjoying the moment. “Not many people in the world can do it to this level. Once we’re out here, the floor is our stage, so it just feels so freeing for us because we’re in our element, we’re having fun, we’re doing what we love to do,” she said.

“But at a certain point, as we get older, it does get a little bit more scary. We’re more aware of what we’re doing, what can happen,” she said. “So our consciousness is there. But it’s always fun.”