Not all heroes wear capes…some wear Team USA gymnastics leotards.

I hope Simone’s suitcase isn’t too heavy; she’s taking home four Olympic medals from the Paris 2024 games! This doesn’t come as a surprise for the most decorated gymnast of all time; the GOAT in every sense. Here's every medal Biles earned this time around, and why she's the biggest inspiration of artistic gymnastics:

Team Final - Gold

The Team Final is exactly what it sounds like—all teams who qualify for the final compete against each other; the highest scoring team wins gold. In gymnastics, athletes are scored for their difficulty (typically between 5 and 6 at the elite level, it is an overall rating based on the hardest moves in the routine, and some mandatory skills add points) and execution (gymnasts start at 10.0, and points are deducted for errors such as bent legs or unpointed toes. The phrase ‘perfect 10’ refers to a gymnast scoring a 10.0 execution, meaning no faults at all). The difficulty and execution scores are added together to produce the gymnast’s total score. There is also a penalty deduction for major faults such as falling off the beam or falling out of a skill. This can also impact the gymnasts' score. The team scores are a cumulative total from each apparatus from each gymnast. A group effort. At the Paris 2024 Olympic games, the Team USA women’s team somersaulted all the way to gold, with an impressive 171.296 points, out-flipping Italy (165.494 points) and Brazil (164.497 points).

Although a team event, the 2024 team victory is extra special for Simone, as this is where she withdrew from the Tokyo 2020 games following a mishap in the vault section. The pressure was high, and the competition got too much. Biles withdrew after the first event of the team final, to focus on her mental health, as she felt it would be unsafe to continue. She entered a brazen, bold, and incredibly difficult two-and-a-half twisting vault, however, substituted for a one-and-a-half twist in the team final (still something most of us can only dream of performing!). In gymnastics, this is known as the ‘twisties’, where a gymnast gets lost in the air. She earned 13.733 points as this affected the difficulty of the vault. Dropping out of the remainder of the team final, the Team USA women earned the silver medal.

A disappointing ending for Simone; a reminder of the paradigm of an athlete she is for the rest of the world. She highlights that mental health is paramount, and her bravery in stepping back to focus on her well-being is worth more than any gold medal. “We have to protect our minds and bodies and not just go out and do what the world wants us to do”, “And I didn’t want to risk the team a medal for my kind of screwups, because they’ve worked way too hard for that” - Simone Biles. She truly cares for her team and knows when to take a break, which is so inspiring.

The 2024 victory was waiting for Simone - she’d been waiting since Rio for this moment. A score of 14.900 in the vault section of the team final this time around. Did someone say comeback?

All Around Final - Gold

The All Around final is an individual event, with all the best gymnasts going for gold to determine who is the most ‘well-rounded’. Each qualifying gymnast performs a routine for each event (balance beam, vault, uneven bars, floor exercise), and their cumulative score across every event determines their overall points. The highest scoring gymnast wins. Guess who got the gold at the 2024 games? Simone Biles, of course. She scored 59.131, taking first place over Rebeca Andrade (Brazil - 57.932 pts) and teammate Sunisa Lee (56.465 pts). The all-around is one of the most desirable gold medals, as it is an individual event and proves who really is the ‘best’ gymnast.

Simone Biles with the iconic ‘biting the medal’ pose and her gold medal. Also wearing her GOAT necklace, specially made by California jeweller Janet Heller. Abbie Parr/Associated Press

Again, this event was crucial for Biles, as she didn't compete for the all-around title in Tokyo 2020. However, at the 2024 games, she was going for gold. She won the all-around final in Rio 2016 - so this must be a pretty special moment, almost coming full circle. “...I’m going for another Olympic run, I never thought I’d be at this phase still doing it and I feel very grateful; I get to write my own ending.” - Simone Biles in a new documentary about her comeback to the games since 2020, Simone Biles Rising, which is available on Netflix in association with Olympic Channel. She continually proves her indefatigable nature. She is a revolutionary personality for upcoming gymnasts. She always has been, really.

Once again she proves that through hard work and looking after your mental health by taking the rest you need, you can be a winner; an inspiration. Over the last few years, Simone Biles has put the effort in to step up after a difficult period, and she has climbed (or cartwheeled) back to the top.

Medal 3 - Vault Final

Simone Biles saluting the judges in the signature Team USA red leotard during the vault final of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Gabriela Bhaskar for The New York Times

After the team and all-around finals, the qualifying gymnasts (top 8) for each individual apparatus compete. There is a medal up for grabs for floor exercise, uneven bars, balance beam, and vault. The only event Simone Biles didn’t qualify for in the 2024 games was uneven bars; she finished 9th in the semi-finals, meaning she was a reserve for the uneven bars final…but the vault made up for it. A third gold!

In the vault final, each gymnast executes two vaults, and an average is taken for their score. She scored 15.300, earning the gold medal over Rebeca Andrade (Brazil - 14.966 points) and teammate Jade Carey (14.466). Historically, Biles’ best events have been vault and floor, so it is no surprise that this is where she excelled - still a very close call when competing against world-class talent!

A true legend of the sport, she has numerous skills named after her; two for the vault. The Biles I: a round-off on the springboard, with a half twist as she makes contact with the vault, then a front layout with a double twist to dismount. Legendary. Biles performed this vault numerous times in 2018. It has a difficulty rating of 6.0, so if executed well, Biles is guaranteed to earn a podium position. Secondly, (but not in any way inferior) The Biles II: A roundoff onto the springboard followed by a back handspring onto the vault, then pushing off into two flips in a pike position. This is also commonly known as the Yurchenko double pike. It has a difficulty of 6.4, so it is the most difficult vault across women’s gymnastics. Of course, Simone Biles can master it! ‘Yurchenko’ (after Natalia Yurchenko) refers to how the gymnast mounts the vault. Although the Yurchenko is the most common vault entry amongst female elite competitions, Simone Biles is the only gymnast to master the two pike somersaults - other athletes typically only do one.

Inspirational for her unimaginable achievements, inspirational for her work ethic. Being the only female athlete to successfully compete with The Biles II, she sets herself apart from her competitors and highlights how highly skilled she is. Also, coming back to reclaim the title of vault champion which she earned in Rio 2016 is a pretty bold move. Rebeca Andrade (representing Brazil) earned the gold medal spot in the Tokyo 2020 games. Simone Biles handles the pressure consistently, and shows that maybe a step back can lead to a million steps forward.

Medal 4 - Floor Exercise

The ultimate flip-out. The floor exercise involves a series of tumble passes, dancing, and leaps to create a routine. It is showcased to music in women’s gymnastics. Each gymnast is scored for difficulty and execution, and the gymnast with the highest score wins.

Simone Biles double-twisted all the way to the silver medal in the floor exercise final at the 2024 games. Rebeca Andrade earned the gold with 14.166 points, Simone took the silver spot with 14.133, and Ana Barbosu with 13.700 points. However, there has been some controversy online surrounding the third-place position - Ana Barbosu of Romania was originally awarded the bronze medal with 13.700 points, but after an appeal to the judge, Team USA’s Jordan Chiles’ score was raised by 0.1, putting her into third place and subsequently receiving the bronze medal. In a ruling, CAS decided that the judges should not have allowed the score increase, because the inquiry was made more than 1 minute after scores were shared (set by the International Gymnastics Federation). This means Chiles’ score was returned to 13.666, and the order was restored - Ana Barbosa in third place, Sabrina Maneca-Voinea (also representing Romania) in fourth, and Jordan Chiles in fifth. There is still a lot of ongoing conflict on social media relating to this issue.

Of course, there are skills named after Biles on floor too: The Biles I (roundoff back handspring into two back layouts with a half twist), which was the first skill to be claimed by Biles in 2013, and The Biles II (roundoff back handspring with a double somersault whilst twisting three times)…I’m dizzy just thinking about it. This is also known as the triple-double, which is much easier, right?

Rebeca Andrade performed incredibly well throughout the Olympics, and was waiting patiently for this gold, so it was well earned.

Simone Biles (left) and Jordan Chiles (right) bowing down to Rebeca Andrade after she won the gold medal in the 2024 Olympic floor exercise final - Aug 5. Naomi Baker/ Getty Images

Sportsmanship is an athlete’s best friend, and Simone Biles has a tight bond with it. She always congratulates her competitors - we often see her smiling and shaking hands with or hugging other athletes. She demonstrates to young athletes that the best gift of sport is friendship and pride, and congratulating others never goes unnoticed. “It was just the right thing to do”. The moment soon went viral and the Louvre mentioned giving the image a spot! This was also the first all-black podium. History-making. The tears are flowing.

Beam Final

After placing fifth in the beam final following a fall, Simone did not take home a medal for this event. Yet, this doesn’t take away from her proven beam track record - having multiple skills named after you isn’t common if you’re a rookie. The Biles involves dismounting the bar with two somersaults, whilst twisting twice. The beam final proved that even our biggest idols are human too, and falls have to be expected when you’re doing three consecutive flips on a 4-inch-wide beam.

This is where Biles returned to the 2020 games after her withdrawal - she earned the bronze medal in Tokyo.

Overall, the Simone Biles 2024 Olympic experience was nothing short of extraordinary. The Redemption Tour - and rightly so. Beyond the heavy weight of gold medals, Simone Biles is also an amazing person, and everything intertwines into a Yurchenko double pike of inspiration. LA 2028 is up next, hopefully, we can get another artistic gymnastics masterclass from Simone Biles.

Simone Biles Paris 2024

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