Record-chasing Biles primed to go out of Paris Olympics with a bang
Simone Biles brings the curtain down on her triumphant return to Olympic competition on Monday by looking to add two more golds to her haul for a record-equalling nine. Four titles are up for grabs on the final day of gymnastics with Japan’s newly crowned team and all-around champion Shinnosuke Oka chasing his third gold, […]
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Simone Biles brings the curtain down on her triumphant return to Olympic competition on Monday by looking to add two more golds to her haul for a record-equalling nine.
Four titles are up for grabs on the final day of gymnastics with Japan’s newly crowned team and all-around champion Shinnosuke Oka chasing his third gold, in the horizontal bar and parallel bars.
But the American Biles, considered the greatest gymnast of all time, will doubtless be the centre of attention in front of another adoring crowd.
She competes in the finals of the balance beam and the floor exercise, and as reigning world champion on both is a favourite to add to her three gold already garnered in Paris.
Biles’s well-publicised troubles with the “twisties” and her withdrawal from multiple events at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games in 2021 have been exorcised, and she has returned to her stunning form of the Rio 2016 Olympics, where she won four gold.
In Paris, the 27-year-old Texan has already hoovered up team gold with the United States, become the first gymnast to recapture the all-around crown, and soared to the vault title.
“I’m super-excited to be on this stage again,” said Biles, who won plaudits in Tokyo for talking openly about her mental health.
“After all these years of putting the mental work in, it’s paid off.
“I did see my therapist the other day. We’re taking it day by day to see if I need any extra therapy while I’m here, but so far it’s good.”