Biles back at the top on her terms

[CharlieH]

 

This was more than just a vault for Simone Biles. It was the moment she lay to rest the Olympic ghosts of three years ago.

The American took in a deep breath as she stood at the end of a 25-metre runway in Paris on Tuesday, preparing to help her USA team-mates reclaim the women's gymnastics team title they had lost in Tokyo in a final that Biles started but was unable to complete when the 'twisties' struck during her vault.

In front of a packed Bercy Arena, where Serena Williams, Michael Phelps and Bill Gates were among those watching, she powered on to the table and twisted off to land firmly on her feet, breaking into a huge smile as the crowd roared.

"After I finished vault I was relieved - I was like 'woo, there's no flashbacks'," Biles, 27, said.

"I did feel a lot of relief and as soon as I landed I knew that we were going to do this."

And she was right. She and her team-mates went on to win gold by a comfortable margin ahead of Italy and Brazil.

From the moment she landed her vault in the first round, Biles seemed to relax - high-fiving her team-mates Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera, before, one after another, they delivered a series of accomplished routines.

In Tokyo Biles had been left cheering on the team from the stands while afflicted by the dangerous mental block where gymnasts get lost in the air. It led to her pulling out of four individual finals at a Games where she had been tipped for several gold medals.

She returned to compete in the beam final, taking an emotional bronze, but it was not until now - eight years after she won four gold medals at Rio 2016 - that she could return to the top of the Olympic podium.

"Now that I'm much older, we have so much more experience and we're out here really having fun and enjoying what we're doing - so I think it's just different," she said when asked about the 2016 and 2024 team golds.

Biles has qualified for another four finals in Paris, with her next medal opportunity coming in Thursday's all-around final.

 

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