Source: https://olympics.com/en/news/paris-2024 ... ound-titleHappy endings don’t come easy.
Gymnastics superstar Simone Biles proved that Thursday evening (1 August) as she pushed aside an early error to claim her second Olympic all-around crown at Paris 2024.
Biles’ 59.131 total was golden as Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade captured silver in the event, scoring 57.932. American Suni Lee was rounded out the podium (56.465).
All three women have previously graced the Olympic all-around podium, a first.
“For me personally tonight, and it means the world to me and it's just so crazy,” Biles said afterward.
Biles won her first title eight years ago at Rio 2016. Lee and Andrade finished with gold and silver three years ago at Tokyo 2020.
Three years ago at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, Biles might have been hoping for her crowning moment. Instead, the superstar was forced out of the women’s team final and four subsequent finals as she prioritised her mental health, dealing with a case of what gymnasts call the ‘twisties,’ where the body and mind fall out of sync.
It sparked a global conversation about mental health in sports.
It pushed her, too, to do the grueling work, physically and mentally, to make it back to the top of the world.
“I never thought I'd step foot on the gymnastics floor again just because of everything that had happened,” explained Biles. “But with the help of [coaches] Cecile and Laurent Landi, I got back in the gym and worked really hard, mentally and physically.
“Even this morning at 7 a.m., I saw my therapist, and there's a time change, so she is so amazing for allowing me to do that these couple of days here in Paris,” she continued, “so just making sure I'm mentally well. I think you see that on the competition floor.”