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Golden Girls! Simone Biles Leads USA to Olympic Gold Medal in Team Gymnastics Final
Redemption! Simone Biles led Team USA to a gold medal in the women’s gymnastics team final at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday, July 30.
Simone, 27, capped off an incredible floor routine to clinch the win, as she took home her first gold medal since collecting three at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. She completed all four of the required events, as did teammate Jordan Chiles.
Jade Carey took part in the vault, while Sunisa Lee competed in the beam, bars and floor exercise.
The U.S. women obliterated the competition, finishing six points ahead of second place Italy, who claimed the silver medal. Team Brazil took home the bronze.
The triumph was all the sweeter for Simone after she battled through calf pain and needed to have her ankle taped up during the qualifying round on Sunday, July 28. Despite her medical situation, she still had the highest scores of that evening.
Simone’s electrifying floor routine, set to Taylor Swift‘s “…Ready For It?” and “Delresto (Echoes)” by Travis Scott and Beyoncé, was the highlight of the night. She also thrilled fans with the highly difficult Cheng vault to kick off her golden evening.
The Ohio native was surrounded by loved ones in the audience, as she was cheered on by her parents, Ron and Nellie Biles.
Simone’s husband, Chicago Bears player Jonathan Owens, made it just in time to watch his wife’s victory after leaving his team’s training camp the day prior.
“Coming for you baby,” Jonathan, 29, wrote on his Instagram Story before taking off on a red eye flight on the evening of Monday, July 29. He included a selfie of himself getting comfy on the plane and hours later revealed he made it to Paris by sharing photos from the city.
The most decorated gymnast of all time had been open about how she feared she might never compete in another Olympics after her disastrous experience at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
After botching her vault during the qualifying event for the individual all-around, Simone pulled out of the event. Teammate Suni, 21, went on to take home the gold medal.
“After further medical evaluation, Simone Biles has withdrawn from the final individual all-around competition at the Tokyo Olympic Games, in order to focus on her mental health,” a statement from the sport’s governing body read on July 27, 2021, while supporting her decision to put her well-being first.
Simone later revealed she had been suffering from the “twisties,” where an athlete loses awareness while they are in mid-air, making it incredibly difficult to land safety.
She went on to withdraw from competing in the uneven bars, vault and individual floor exercise. Without Simone, Team USA took home the silver medal in the women’s team competition, losing the gold to Russia.
Simone did end up with one medal from the Tokyo Games, as she returned for the balance beam final. In a remarkable comeback, the Texas resident took home a bronze medal in a scaled-down version of her highly technical routine.
“I never thought I was going to be competing again after Tokyo,” Simone explained in July 2024 Netflix docuseries Simone Biles: Rising. “I had to fight demons, day in and day out in training. I really have to prove to myself that I can do this. I get to write my own ending.”
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