Simone Biles was all smiles with teammate Jordan Chiles after finishing her routine on the uneven bars during the women's gymnastics team final at the Olympic Games in Paris.
Jamie Squire / Getty Images
Perhaps the biggest mistake Simone Biles made on Tuesday night came before the competition even began: as Team USA was being introduced, she ran out onto the arena floor too early.
Arena staff directed her back to her laughing teammates for the proper introduction. Afterward, Biles and the rest of the U.S. women's gymnastics team were stellar through four rounds of competition in Tuesday's Olympic team all-around final, in which the U.S. won the gold medal.
Biles competed in all four events — vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise — alongside teammates Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee and Jade Carey. (The fifth member of Team USA, the 16-year-old Hezly Rivera, did not perform in Tuesday's final.)
The U.S. settled for silver at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, when Biles withdrew partway through the team final after experiencing the "twisties" on her vault routine.
Ahead of this summer's Games, Biles and her teammates said they were seeking "redemption" for that disappointment. "I feel like we all have more to give. Our Tokyo performances weren't the best," Biles said after the U.S. Olympic Team Trials last month. "We weren't under the best circumstances, either, but I feel like we have a lot of weight on our shoulders to go out there and prove we're better athletes."
Italy took silver and Brazil won bronze.
Concerns about Biles's physical health had appeared Sunday after she tweaked her calf during the qualifying round. Afterward, coaches downplayed the injury's severity and said she would compete in the team final. Ultimately, Biles performed as usual, with her left calf wrapped in athletic tape.
The gold is the first medal of the 2024 Olympic Games for Biles, who was already the most decorated gymnast in history. It is her eighth Olympic medal overall and her fifth gold.
And she could win as many as four more. Biles is set to compete again Thursday in the individual all-around final. Among her top competitors in that event will be her U.S. teammate Suni Lee, who won the gold in Tokyo, and the Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade. Biles also qualified to compete in three of the four event finals: vault, balance beam and floor exercise.
Copyright 2024 NPR