American gymnast Simone Biles won her third Olympic gold of the Paris Games when she took the vault title in emphatic fashion.
After helping the USA to women’s team gold and then taking the all-around title, the 27-year-old reclaimed another of the titles she first won at Rio 2016, having lost them in Tokyo when she pulled out of several events.
She nailed her huge Biles II vault before sticking her ‘easier’ vault – whose difficulty is harder than many attempt as their best vault – to score an average of 15.300.
Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, the only gymnast who has skills that can come close to Biles and who won the title in Tokyo, took silver with 14.966 and American Jade Carey got bronze with 14.466.
Biles had said after winning the all-around title two days ago that facing Andrade was “stressful” as she was the only gymnast who has ever pushed her closely and joked she did not want to face her again.
There had been anticipation that Andrade might try a new skill that she has submitted – a triple-twisting Yurchenko vault that would have a difficulty value closer to Biles’ best vault – but that did not materialise.
The 25-year-old, who beat Biles on this apparatus at last year’s World Championships, performed her vaults well. She scored higher than Biles for execution on both vaults, but with difficulty values that were a full mark lower than her rival’s efforts, Andrade would only have had a chance if the American had faltered.
Biles became the third most decorated female gymnast with 10 Olympic medals and with two more finals to come on Monday – floor and beam – she can overtake second-placed Vera Caslavska, who won 11 for Czechoslovakia between 1960 and 1968. The all-time record of 18 is held by Soviet Union gymnast Larisa Latynina.
