Simone Biles is back: U.S. women's gymnastics team takes gold at Paris Olympics

Simone Biles has completed step one of her return to the Olympics, anchoring a gold medal team effort for the United States women in the artistic gymnastics final on Tuesday night at the 2024 Paris Games. The ladies in red, white, and blue topped Italy and Brazil on the podium, securing first place in the event for the first time since 2016.

Biles was joined by teammates Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, and Hezly Rivera, who combined for a top score of 171.296. They were nearly six points ahead of second-place Italy, which made the podium as a team for the first time in nearly a century.

The story of the day—if not the week—was all Biles, however, with the Black Catholic dynamo continuing an unprecedented run since ending a two-year hiatus. Her most recent Olympic competition, at Tokyo in 2021, occasioned the long break, with a case of the “twisties” derailing her Games and, for a time, her career.

Having prioritized her mental health and become a global icon of self-care, she has dominated the sport since her 2023 return, including two national championships and a first-place world championships finish last year. It all led up to this year’s Summer Olympics, where she is the oldest-ever female American gymnast and has shown her mettle once again.

Already the most decorated gymnast in history, with her team win this week Biles became the American with the most Olympic medals in gymnastics, breaking a tie with Shannon Miller.

“Honestly, I would have had to Google that,” she told reporters after the podium ceremony when asked about her thoughts on racking up the accolades.

“I don't keep stats. I just go out here and do what I'm supposed to. I'm doing what I love and enjoying it, so that's really all that matters to me. Yes, it's amazing now that I hear it, but I don't think I'll truly understand the depth of it until I walk away from the sport.”

The U.S. team began its team competition on Sunday, with Biles giving Bercy Arena a scare following an apparent injury during warmups. After she was seen limping in the vault area, media reports emerged that she had suffered a lower leg injury that was not considered serious. Speculations of a foot injury were later revised to a calf tweak that did not seem to slow her down.

Biles registered strong showings on each event thereafter, including her signature Yurchenko Double Pike (“Biles II”) vault, scoring well above her competitors and helping the U.S. team to first-place in the standings after the qualifying rotations.

Her mother Nellie later told reporters Biles’ calf was “fine” ahead of the team finals, bringing a sigh of relief to millions awaiting her long-awaited return to the medal podium in the Olympics. 

“You know, we're doing pain management. So, honestly, once we're out there, the adrenaline is pumping, the girls have my back, so it's super exciting [and] it's not much of a thought,” Biles said after the team finals.

“Tonight, we're just going to go back and work on therapy,” she added

Each of her apparatus finishes on Sunday brought unmatched cheers from an international crowd in Paris which earlier this week saw her qualify for the individual finals in the all-around, floor, vault, and balance beam.

On Tuesday, she appeared reserved on the vault uneven bars, opting for simpler moves but maximizing effect with few deductions. She also looked stellar on balance beam, breaking out a more difficult routine as competitors for China and Brazil experienced falls (and near falls) that put the U.S. in pole position for a first-place finish.

The Americans’ own fall early on in the balance beam, courtesy of Chiles, was hardly enough to dim their gold-medal chances, given an extensive lead they had opened up by the fourth rotation. Solid finishes from Chiles after remounting and the rest of her team made things largely a formality when Biles stepped up to finish the competition on floor, her signature event.

Though she stepped out of bounds twice—thereafter rolling her eyes with a smirk in the middle of the routine—Biles was her usual self, going for several of the highest difficulty skills in the event. She landed each of them, including several stuck landings, to finish the job and secure team gold.

One of Biles’ main rivals coming into the Paris Games was the Brazilian Rebeca Andrade, who has remained strong throughout the competition thus far, nearing Biles’ scores on the beam and the uneven bars. However, Biles held a nearly two-point lead overall over the defending all-around silver medalist at the end of the competition on Sunday.

Scores will reset before Biles competes against Andrade and defending gold medalist and fellow countrywoman Lee in the women’s all-around gymnastics final on Thursday. The competition will begin at 10:15am PT on NBC and Peacock.

Individual finals for the women will take place throughout the weekend and into Monday afternoon in Paris.

Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.

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