Simone Biles dubbed this the “redemption tour” for the US women’s gymnastics team, and the sport’s most decorated star of all-time delivered an electrifying bounce-back performance Tuesday in Paris.
Biles fronted the American squad to its third all-around team gold medal in the past four Olympics — finishing it off with a typically stellar and acrobatic floor exercise — to rebound from a disappointing showing three years ago in Tokyo.
Team USA took home silver at the delayed 2020 Games, with Biles withdrawing mid-competition due to a bout with the “twisties” and making the decision to take care of her mental and physical health.
US’ Simone Biles poses with the gold medal during the podium ceremony for the artistic gymnastics women’s team final. AFP via Getty Images“I started off with therapy this morning which was super-exciting. I told my therapist I was feeling calm and ready,” the 27-year-old Biles told reporters in a post-meet press conference. “I was like ‘Please, no flashbacks or anything.
“But after I finished on vault, I was so relieved. As soon as I landed my vault, I thought, ‘Oh yeah, we’re going to do this.’ ”
Back from minor injury
And when former US teammate Aly Raisman asked Biles during the presser what nickname should be attached to the current championship team, Biles smiled and invoked the acronym “FAAFO,” which stands for “F–k Around And Find Out.”
Biles suffered a minor calf injury in Sunday’s qualifying round, but she participated in all four events Tuesday to lead returning 2020 teammates Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey and 16-year-old newcomer Hezly Rivera back to the podium.
She celebrates after team USA won the artistic gymnastics women’s team final during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. AFP via Getty Images
Biles reacts after competing in the uneven bars during the team gymnastics final on July 30, 2024. AFP via Getty Images
The Olympian competes in the vault during the women’s gymnastics team final at the Olympics in Paris on July 30, 2024. REUTERS
Biles’ husband Jonathan Owens (l.), and her parents Nellie (c.) and Ronald (r.) watch Biles compete in the vault during the women’s team final at the Olympics on July 30, 2024. Getty Images2024 PARIS OLYMPICS
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Italy won the silver medal and Brazil took the bronze, with the Americans outdistancing the field by 5.802 points.
It marked the fifth career Olympic gold medal for the 27-year-old Biles — along with one silver and two bronze — ahead of the individual events later this week.
Gold medallist’s Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, Sunisa Lee and Hezly Rivera celebrate with their medals on the podium. REUTERS
The team celebrate with their national flag after winning gold. REUTERS
Biles stepped out of bounds on one of her passes, but she received a 14.666 to seal the deal for the Americans. Getty ImagesHer eight Olympic medals are the most for any American gymnast, one more than Shannon Miller (1992, 1996).
Competing in her third consecutive Olympics, Biles also was a member of the gold-medal squad in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2016. The US women previously had won the top prize in 1996 in Atlanta and 2012 in London.
Set a sport record
The podium finish brought Biles’ combined medal count in Olympic events and world championships to 38, the most in the sport’s history.
Biles, the oldest gymnast on an American women’s team since 35-year-old Marie Margaret Hoesly in 1952, and Chiles were the only members of the squad to compete in all four events: vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise.
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Scores from qualifying did not carry over to the finals, but the US won the qualifying round by a convincing margin of 5.435 points. Three gymnasts from every team competed in each event, with all three scores counting toward the team’s tally.
Suni Lee celebrates after her balance beam performance during the team final at the Olympics on July 30, 2024. AP
Jordan Chiles celebrates after the uneven bars in the team final on July 30, 2024. Xinhua/ShutterstockThe 21-year-old Lee, who took home the individual all-around gold medal in 2020 in Tokyo, competed in three of the four events, all but the vault apparatus.
Rivera, the lone first-timer, did not participate Tuesday, but she earned her first gold medal by taking part in the qualifying round.






