Simone Biles jumps to her third gold medal at the Paris Olympics

PARIS — Simone Biles is one of the few, just like the challenging jump that only she attempts.

It was, as expected, Biles’ Yurchenko double pike that secured her Olympic gold medal in the vault final at the Paris Games. She only took a small step back on her landing and was deducted one-tenth for landing out of bounds, but otherwise it looked and felt every bit as good as gold at the time.

Biles scored a 15.700 for the YDP and a 14.900 on her second jump, a Cheng, bringing her average to 15.300, putting her at the top of the leaderboard and effectively untouchable.

This may have been the last time fans saw a Yurchenko double pike, as Biles said after the match that she would not do it again. However, she did leave the door open for participation in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

“The next Olympics are at home, so you never know. But I’m really getting old,” she said.

Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade came second to take silver, while bronze medallist Jade Carey found compensation after missing out on a vault medal at the Tokyo Games after tripping on her approach to the vault table.

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Biles can really suck all the drama out of a final, posting a score halfway through the event that’s more than a whole point higher than her competitors. But that’s what the 27-year-old superstar does best; the only competition is between Biles herself and history.

O WOW. 🤩

Simone Biles did SO well on this jump in the final! #Olympic Games in Paris

📺 NBC, E! and Peacock photo.twitter.com/fgFeDjZuQg

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 3, 2024

It’s Biles’ second Olympic gold medal in the vault final and the seventh Olympic gold medal of her career. She’s already won two gold medals here in impressive fashion, in the team event and then in the all-around. And she’ll get another chance to add to her haul with the balance beam and floor exercise finals coming up on Monday.

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These Games were a sign of redemption and resilience for Biles, who withdrew from the Tokyo Games during the team finals due to a mental block gymnasts call “the twisties.” She felt disoriented and lost in the air, putting her at high risk for serious injury.

Instead of that career-defining moment, Biles bounced back, worked on both her physical and mental health, and remained the most dominant gymnast on the planet and the Greatest Of All Time, as her diamond-encrusted goat necklace reminds us all.

To win gold on vault, Biles had to nail both her vaunted Yurchenko double pike, a vault so difficult she’s the only female gymnast to attempt it, and the Cheng, a vault that requires an immediate half-twist on the vault table followed by a 1.5-twist layout. That YDP made Biles the odds-on favorite going into the vault final. And she delivered.

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(Photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images)