Simone Biles and Suni Lee maintained strong scores halfway through the women’s gymnastics all-around final on Thursday at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
NOTE: Women's gymnastics individual all-around final will air again on NBC 5 in primetime starting at 7 p.m. CT. Spoilers are below.
Simone Biles held off Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade for all-around Paris Olympics gymnastics gold, and it all came down to one routine: the floor exercise.
The American gymnastics star -- now the oldest Olympic women’s gymnastics champ since 1952, at 27-years-old -- edged Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade during a tense Olympic all-around final on Thursday. Biles’ total of 59.131 was just over a point ahead of Andrade at 57.932, one of the closest calls Biles has ever endured at a major international event.
Sunisa Lee, the Tokyo Olympics champion, earned bronze despite spending much of the last 15 months dealing with multiple kidney diseases that left her return to the Games very much in doubt.
Still, the meet ended the way all the ones Biles has started and finished over the last 11 years have ended: with hugs and gold on the way.
But before that, the fierce battle all came down to the final rotation on the floor.
Both Biles and Lee stunned the crowd with their performances, both smiling after landing each skill.
Paris 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics
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In total, Biles finished with 59.131 after a whopping 15.066 on floor. Lee's brilliant routine, with a score of 13.666, pushed her into third.
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According to NBC Sports, Biles is the oldest gymnast to win a gold medal in the individual all-around competition since the 1952 Games.
That mark was held by Maria Gorokhovskaya of the Soviet Union, who captured the gold at the age of 30 during the Games in Helsinki. She also won the gold in the team competition during those Olympics, along with silver medals in five different disciplines.
She is also the first woman to win multiple all-around gold medals since 1968, when Czechoslovakia’s Vera Caslavska won back-to-back gold medals in Tokyo and Mexico City. She won seven gold medals in all, including four during the 1968 Olympics.
She is the most decorated women’s gymnast in U.S. history, with six gold medals to her credit and nine medals overall spanning three Olympics.
Biles had exceeded Shannon Miller’s mark of seven career medals with her all-around victory with Team USA on Tuesday, and moved even further ahead with her gold on Thursday.
It will hardly be the last time fans can see Biles in Paris, however.
The 27-year-old gymnastics GOAT is expected to compete in several individual events.
How does gymnastics scoring work?
Between the various apparatuses, competition formats and additional rules, there is a lot to follow when it comes to gymnastics — and that’s before even getting into the turns, spins and twists of the gymnasts themselves.
Here's a breakdown of how it all works.
Remaining women's gymnastics schedule
Vault final: Aug. 3
Biles and Carey both qualified for the vault final.
Biles won the event at the 2016 Rio Games but pulled out of the final at the 2020 Tokyo Games after getting "the twisties" and did not get a chance to defend her title. Carey did compete in the 2020 Tokyo vault final, but missed the podium with two disappointing routines.
The women’s vault final will take place at 9:20 a.m. CT on Aug. 3 on NBC 5 and can be streamed live on Peacock.
Uneven bars final: Aug. 4
Lee was the only American woman to qualify for the uneven bars final. Typically considered one of her best events, Lee is a medal contender. At the 2020 Tokyo Games, she took home the bronze medal in the event. Leading up to the Games, Lee said making the podium at the uneven bars final is one of her major goals.
Biles missed the uneven bars finals by tenths of a point. She qualified in ninth place, meaning she is considered a “reserve athlete” for the event.
Watch the uneven bar final at 8 a.m. CT on Aug. 4 on NBC 5 or stream it live on Peacock.
Balance beam final: Aug. 5
Biles and Lee will find themselves in the same competition yet again in the balance beam final. The two have been trading off highest scoring beam routines throughout the 2024 season- and this competition is bound to be a nail-biter. Biles took home the bronze medal on the balance beam in both 2016 and 2020. Lee, on the other hand, has not yet medaled in an Olympic balance beam final.
The balance beam final begins at 5:36 a.m. CT on Aug. 5. Streaming begins on E! at 4:45 a.m. CT and at 8:30 a.m. on NBC 5.
Floor exercise final: Aug. 5
The floor exercise final will be the last event of the women’s gymnastics competition this Olympics. Biles and Chiles have both qualified.
Biles won the floor exercise final at the 2016 Games, but had to pull out of the 2020 Games final, leaving room for Carey to take home gold. Carey missed the final in this year's Olympics after an uncharacteristic fall in qualifiers. It was later revealed she had been battling an illness during the Games.
After Carey's fall, Chiles scored high enough to clinch the second spot in the final. Chiles’ Beyonce-themed floor routine has been a consistent crowd pleaser throughout the Games so far.
Watch the floor exercise final at 7:20 a.m. CT on Aug. 5. Streaming begins on E! at 4:45 a.m. CT and at 8:30 a.m. on NBC 5.
