Women of color top the podium in Paris Olympics’ All-Around (original) (raw)
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PARIS, France — Simone Biles became the first woman since 1968 to win two Olympic all-around titles, while Tokyo Olympic all-around champion Suni Lee won her second consecutive all-around medal by securing bronze. Meanwhile, Tokyo all-around silver medalist Rebecca Andrade earns a second silver all-around medal at Bercy Arena. It’s the first time in Olympic history that all three spots were won by women of color.
Biles led after the first rotation, posting a competition-leading 15.766 with her Biles II on vault to take a .666 lead over Andrade, but a break on a connection while on uneven bars in the second rotation resulted in a score of 13.733, dropping her to third overall. Andrade took over the with a 29.766, with Kaylia Nemour of Algeria second with a 29.566 and Biles in third with a 29.499. After two rotations, Alice D’Amato of Italy ranked fourth with a 28.800 and Lee was on her heels with a 27.799, on the strength of a 13.933 on vault and 14.866 on uneven bars.
The third rotation on balance beam put both Americans on an apparatus where they often yield strong scores. Biles led off with a 14.566 to retake the lead with a 44.065, with Andrade trailing with a 43.899. Lee was tied for fourth with a 42.799 after posting a 14.000 on beam, just .034 behind D’Amato in third.
Rebecca Andrade, Simone Biles, and Suni Lee took a historic selfie atop the podium at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, marking the first time all athletes in the all-around competition who made the podium are women of color. Credit: John Cheng / USA Gymnastics
The medals were to be decided on floor exercise as Lee sought to leapfrog into third. Needing a 13.534 to overtake D’Amato for bronze, she posted a 13.666 that catapulted her into what would ultimately be a bronze position. Biles then sealed the deal and thrilled the crowd with her best floor routine of the Paris games to date, scoring 15.066.
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It was an uncharacteristically nail-biting competition, with both Biles and Lee using nearly flawless floor routines to earn their medals. Biles won with a score of 59.131, with Rebecca Andrade of Brazil second with 57.932 and Lee third with 56.465. Again, the first time in history that the podium was completely filled by women of color at an Olympic games.
With her top all-around finish on Thursday, Biles padded her already historical Olympic medal count, bringing it to nine and earning her sixth gold. Complete results from the competition are available here. U.S. fans can visit the Paris 2024 info page for information on American gymnasts.
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