5:39 م
Unknown
RIO
DE JANEIRO — Simone Biles, already considered the world’s greatest
female gymnast before even competing in the Olympics, emphatically
confirmed her standing on Thursday by winning the women’s individual
all-around gold medal at the Rio Games.
Wearing
a stars-and-stripes leotard, Biles, 19, joined Mary Lou Retton, Carly
Patterson, Nastia Liukin and Gabby Douglas as American all-around
winners.
The American Aly Raisman, 22, won the silver, and Aliya Mustafina, 21, of Russia won bronze.
Continue reading the main story
Victory
in this event brings lucrative endorsements and widespread adoration, a
popularity bonanza fueled by a prime-time showcase of athletic
artistry. At 4 feet 9 inches, with size 5 feet, Biles is someone that
young viewers can relate to. Then she performs, and her abilities are
unimaginable.
Her
ascent has been sudden to those who follow gymnastics only ever four
years. At the last Summer Games, in London in 2012, Douglas was the
show-stopper. Biles arrived here from Texas and gave the Rio Games a
performance for the ages. Whether you know an Amanar from an aardvark,
you watch her not because the result is in doubt but rather to witness
something without equal.
Continue reading the main story
The
first rotation on Thursday for the top gymnasts was the vault, and both
Biles and Raisman broke out their Amanars. In that challenging vault,
the gymnast performs a round-off onto the board and then a back
handspring onto the table. She then completes two-and-a-half twists
before a blind landing.
Biles,
as usual, flew higher and farther than anyone else, though she took a
big step on her landing. It was enough for the top score of the day.
Raisman also pulled off her Amanar, and the two Americans were one-two
after one rotation.
But
after the uneven bars, Biles was in an unfamiliar place: second place. A
strong performance by Mustafina, the 2012 champion in the bars, and a
pedestrian one by Biles put the Russian ahead by a small margin. Raisman
slipped to fourth.
The
score for Biles was lower than she has been used to getting. The bars
is her weakest event, but the disappointment would shake some
competitors and cause them to lose focus. But Biles isn’t just any
competitor. She’s a three-time world champion.
Biles
looked a little nervous on the balance beam, wobbling at one point. But
she made a great landing. After Mustafina over-rotated her full turn,
had a few balance checks and left out a front aerial. Biles was back in
front, and Raisman moved into third.
Continue reading the main story
The
competition culminated with the floor exercise. Biles’s first pass is a
full-twisting double layout, and she followed that with her “Biles,” a
double layout with a half twist, then a stag leap. Her third and fourth
passes were just as phenomenal. Her coach Aimee Boorman cried as Biles
came off the floor. Her score: 15.933, the highest of the day on any
apparatus.
