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By Kyle Feldscher, CNN
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Updated 4:33 PM EDT, Tue July 30, 2024
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'The GOAT': Anchor reacts to Simone Biles becoming most decorated US Olympic gymnast
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Paris CNN —
It was everything she could have ever hoped it would be.
Three years after pulling out of the team gymnastics final, Simone Biles was alone once more at the Olympics. But the vibes could not be more different.
The final performer of the night, Biles took to the floor to clinch the gold for Team USA. After years of trying to relive that night in Tokyo, the first notes of a Taylor Swift song rang through the Bercy Arena to start her routine.
Biles was ready for it.
Her typical magic combination of grace, power and speed made for an iconic moment that will live on in gymnastics and Olympics lore. She nailed everything she went for. Even when she slightly stumbled, there was no breaking her stride.
“I kind of knew as long as I landed on my feet on all passes, we were going to be good. So as soon as I stepped out of bounds, I was like, ‘Well, there’s a line… . I guess … it’s not that big of a deal,’” she said.
It was a performance for the ages under the brightest of lights for a performer who has faced more scrutiny than any normal human could bear to stand. But what the 4-foot-8-inch Biles lacks in height, she more than makes up for in heart and, after years of therapy and working on herself, mental toughness.
“At the beginning of the day, I started off with therapy this morning so that was super exciting. And then I told her I was feeling calm and ready,” Biles said of her preparations for Tuesday night. “And that’s kind of exactly what happened.”
But, in a sign of her normality amid abnormal performances, Biles said Tokyo was never far from her mind.
“After I finished vault, I was relieved. I was like, ‘Wooo, because please, no flashbacks or anything,’” she said. “But I did feel a lot of relief. And as soon as I landed vault, I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, I’m definitely (OK), we’re gonna do this.’”
Teammate Jordan Chiles jumped up and down in joy after that vault for the same reason.
“Yo, hallelujah, no flashbacks. No, nothing,” she said. “I was like, OK, like, all she needs to do is just do her normal. So me jumping up and down was just like a relief.”
From the moment she entered the Bercy Arena on Sunday to Tuesday’s medal ceremony, Biles was the most watched person in the City of Light. Her every step was looked at carefully – even more so after a moment during warmups for the floor in Sunday’s qualification when she aggravated a calf injury she first felt a couple weeks ago.
Biles limped and powered through the rest of that competition, qualifying for the all-around individual finals along with the individual balance beam, vault and floor competitions. It inspired a level of concern that sent onlookers spiraling into worries that Biles could possibly experience the woes of Tokyo once again.
But no matter.
US gymnast Simone Biles competes on the balance beam during the individual all-around on Thursday, August 1. She won the gold.
Biles shows off her gold medal — the sixth of her career.
Dinghys take off at the start of a sailing race on August 1.
Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade competes in the floor exercise during the individual all-around on August 1. Andrade won the silver for the second straight Olympics.
A tearful Andy Murray leaves the court after he and doubles partner Dan Evans lost in the quarterfinals on August 1. Murray, a three-time grand slam winner, is retiring from the sport.
Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh competes in the 200-meter butterfly final on August 1. The 17-year-old won her second gold medal of these Games with an Olympic-record time of 2:03.03.
China's Zheng Qinwen celebrates after defeating Poland's Iga Świątek, the world’s top-ranked tennis player and a dominant force on clay, in the Olympic semifinals on August 1. Qinwen, the No. 6 seed, won in straight sets: 6-2, 7-5.
Azerbaijan's Zelym Kotsoiev, top, and Uzbekistan's Muzaffarbek Turoboyev compete in a judo semifinal on August 1. Kotsoiev would go on to win the gold. Toroboyev won the bronze.
Simone Biles shows off a goat necklace after winning all-around gold on August 1. Many consider Biles to be the GOAT: greatest of all time. She has won more Olympic medals than any other US gymnast in history.
Brazilian table tennis player Hugo Calderano hits a shot during his quarterfinal match against South Korea's Jang Woo-jin on August 1. Calderano won and became the first South American table tennis player to reach an Olympic semifinal in men's singles.
China's Yang Jiayu competes in the 20-kilometer race walk, which she won on August 1.
American swimmer Katie Ledecky celebrates after winning Olympic gold in the 1,500-meter freestyle on Wednesday, July 31. The American swimming legend crushed the rest of the field in her signature event, breaking her own Olympic record in the process. She finished in 15:30.02, a full 10 seconds faster than her closest competitor.
Ledecky, second from top, enjoys a comfortable lead against her competitors in the 1,500 free. With the win, Ledecky tied fellow American Jenny Thompson for the most Olympic gold medals by a female swimmer (eight). Ledecky also won her 12th Olympic medal in all, tying Thompson and Dara Torres for the most ever by a female swimmer.
South Korean badminton player Chae Yoo-jung plays a shot during a mixed doubles match on July 31.
Japanese gymnast Shinnosuke Oka competes on the horizontal bar during the individual all-around on July 31. Oka went on to win the gold. Japanese men have now won the individual all-around in four straight Olympics. Daiki Hashimoto won three years ago in Tokyo, and Kohei Uchimura won in 2016 and 2012.
Spain's Rafael Nadal waves goodbye after he and doubles partner Carlos Alcaraz were knocked out in the quarterfinals by the United States' Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram on July 31. Nadal’s future in tennis is uncertain as injuries continue to plague him.
Italian canoeist Marta Bertoncelli competes in the C-1 event on July 31.
Hungarian fencer Krisztian Rabb, left, faces South Korea's Park Sang-won on July 31. South Korea won gold in the team sabre event.
China's Zhanle Pan reacts after he broke his own world record to win gold in the 100-meter freestyle on July 31.
Competitors dive into the Seine River in Paris during the women's Olympic triathlon on July 31. Water quality concerns had postponed the men's triathlon by a day, but it was held on the same day as the women's.
Brazilian soccer legend Marta leaves the field in tears after receiving a red card during a match against Spain on July 31. She was sent off for a reckless and dangerous challenge on Olga Carmona. Marta, a six-time FIFA World Player of the Year, has said she’s retiring from international play following this tournament, so the red card could mark an ignominious end to her glittering national team career.
Exhausted triathletes catch their breath at the end of the competition on July 31.
France's Léon Marchand leads the 200-meter butterfly final on July 31. Marchand won the event and then came back to the pool later in the night to win gold in the 200-meter breaststroke. He set Olympic records in both.
Rapper Snoop Dogg wears a T-shirt with Kelly Cheng on it as he dances before a beach volleyball match on July 31.
British divers Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix and Lois Toulson compete in the synchronized 10-meter platform event on July 31. They won the bronze.
Italian rower Luca Rambaldi, center, celebrates after winning silver in the quadruple sculls on July 31.
Sinagapore's Zeng Jian focuses during a table tennis match on July 31.
South Sudan's Carlik Jones is defended by the United States' Derrick White and Bam Adebayo on July 31. Team USA won 103-86.
French cyclist Anthony Jeanjean competes in front of the Luxor Obelisk in Paris during the BMX freestyle final on July 31. He won the bronze.
South Korean table tennis player Lim Jong-hoon takes a selfie on the medal podium with his mixed-doubles partner, Shin Yu-bin, and teams from China and North Korea on Tuesday, July 30. Lim and Shin won bronze. On the left is the North Korean team of Ri Jong-sik and Kim Kum-yong, who won the silver. At center is the Chinese team of Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, who won the gold.
US gymnast Simone Biles performs on the balance beam during the team final on July 30. Biles and Team USA dominated the field to win the gold. It was a bit of redemption for Biles, who surpassed Shannon Miller for the most Olympic medals by an American gymnast (eight). Biles withdrew from the team competition three years ago after a shocking case of the “twisties,” a mental block where gymnasts lose track of their positioning midair.
From left, American gymnasts Jordan Chiles, Hezly Rivera, Biles, Jade Carey and Suni Lee celebrate after winning the gold medal.
Carey soars through the air during her vault at the start of the team gymnastics competition.
British tennis player Andy Murray throws his sweatband into the crowd after he and doubles partner Dan Evans advanced to the quarterfinals with a dramatic win over Belgium's Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen on July 30. Murray and Evans won 6-3, 6-7, 11-9. Murray has said this tournament will be the last of his legendary career.
Irish swimmer Daniel Wiffen competes in the 800-meter freestyle on July 30. He won the gold.
The United States' Naya Tapper, Alev Kelter and Kayla Canett celebrate after their team finished a stunning comeback to defeat Australia and win bronze in rugby sevens on July 30. It is the the United States' first-ever Olympic medal in the sport — for either men or women.
American athlete Marcus Christopher competes in BMX freestyle qualifying on July 30.
French fencer Auriane Mallo-Breton holds her son, Mathis, as her team gathers with coaches after an épée win against South Korea on July 30.
Spectators watch Finnish dressage rider Emma Kanerva on July 30.
US tennis star Coco Gauff cries as she argues with chair umpire Jaume Campistol during the second set of her Olympic match against Croatia’s Donna Vekić on July 30. Gauff was facing a break point when a line call, initially called out, was overruled by Campistol. Vekić went on to win 7-6, 6-2.
Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina leaps from his surfboard and raises his finger in the air as he celebrates a near-perfect 9.90-scoring wave on Monday, July 29. It was the highest-scoring wave in Olympic history.
Japanese gymnasts celebrate after they won gold in the team competition on July 29. The Chinese team was in first place heading into the final rotation, but some costly mistakes on the horizontal bar dropped it to second place. The United States won the bronze.
From left, Japan's Saori Miyazaki, the United States' Kahleah Copper, the United States' Alyssa Thomas, Japan's Saki Hayashi and Japan's Maki Takada watch the ball go through the hoop during their first basketball game in Paris on July 29. Team USA won 102-76 in what was a rematch of the gold-medal game three years ago. The United States has won 56 consecutive Olympic games.
Mollie O'Callaghan beats fellow Australian Ariarne Titmus to the wall to win the 200-meter freestyle on July 29. O'Callaghan finished in 1:53.27, topping Titmus’ Olympic record from three years ago. Titmus won the silver.
Ukrainian fencer Olga Kharlan reacts after winning her bronze-medal sabre bout on July 29. It's her country’s first medal of the Paris Olympics.
Spain's Rafael Nadal reacts while playing Serbia's Novak Djokovic in a second-round match on July 29. Djokovic defeated his longtime rival in an epic showdown, winning 6-1, 6-4.
Japanese surfer Reo Inaba wipes out during the third round of competition on July 29.
Argentina's Juana Castellaro Morello plays the ball during a field hockey match against South Africa on July 29.
US gymnast Fred Richard competes on the parallel bars during the team final on July 29.
China's Yu Haicheng competes in trap shooting qualification on July 29.
Japanese skateboarder Yuto Horigome celebrates with his gold medal after winning the street competition on July 29. Horigome also won the event at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.
Chinese divers Lian Junjie and Yang Hao compete in the synchronized 10-meter platform event on July 29. The duo recorded the highest score in every round to win the gold medal.
The Eiffel Tower overlooks a beach volleyball match on July 29.
Canada's Krissy Scurfield tackles New Zealand's Jazmin Felix-Hotham during a rugby sevens match on Sunday, July 28.
Visitors take pictures of the Olympic cauldron after sunset on July 28.
American swimmer Torri Huske, left, edges teammate Gretchen Walsh as they finish 1-2 in the 100-meter butterfly on July 28.
Great Britain’s Andy Murray reacts after he and doubles partner Dan Evans came back to defeat Japan’s Taro Daniel and Kei Nishikori in a second-round match at the Olympics on July 28. They fought off five match points to win 2-6, 7-6, 11-9. Murray has said he will retire after the Games.
US forward Trinity Rodman jumps over Germany's Alexandra Popp during the Americans' 4-1 victory on July 28.
US fencers Lauren Scruggs, center left, and Lee Kiefer celebrate after facing off in the foil final on July 28. Kiefer overwhelmed Scruggs 15-6 to win the event for the second straight Olympics.
Zambia's Martha Tembo consoles teammate Barbra Banda after Australia came back from a 5-2 deficit to win 6-5 in their soccer match on July 28.
US gymnast Simone Biles competes on the balance beam during the Olympic qualification round on July 28. She landed awkwardly while warming up for her floor routine, but she fought through the pain to post an impressive all-around score.
Great Britain's Patrick James Brown swings at Brazil's Keno Marley Machado during a heavyweight bout on July 28. Machado won 4-1.
Egyptian fencer Mohamed El-Sayed celebrates after winning the bronze-medal épée bout on July 28.
Slovakia's Yang Wang competes in table tennis on July 28.
The crowd cheers for a lifeguard after he went into the pool to recover the swim cap of US swimmer Emma Weber on July 28. Lifeguards like this are common at swimming competitions, but it still provided a moment of levity in between races. NBC's commentary crew deemed him “Bob the Cap Catcher.” The lifeguard declined to release his name, a Paris 2024 spokesperson said, so that he could keep the focus on his duties.
Fans show their support during a beach volleyball match on July 28.
South Sudanese basketball player Carlik Jones drives to the basket during a game against Puerto Rico on July 28. South Sudan claimed a historic victory in its first-ever Olympic men's game, winning 90-79.
Actor Tom Cruise takes a photo with a fan during the women's gymnastics qualification round on July 28. Other celebrities watching included Snoop Dogg and Ariana Grande.
The sun sets behind the Eiffel Tower during a beach volleyball match on July 27.
Australia's Emma McKeon, Meg Harris, Shayna Jack and Mollie O'Callaghan celebrate after winning the women's 4x100-meter freestyle relay on July 27. The team set an Olympic record with a time of 3:28:92.
France's Joan Duru gets into the barrel during the first round of the surfing competition on July 27. The surfing events are taking place in Tahiti, far away from Paris.
Spanish tennis players Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal celebrate during a doubles match on July 27. The dream pairing beat Argentina’s Máximo González and Andrés Molteni7-6, 6-4.
Uzbekistan fans chant together in the stands as they watch their men's soccer team play Egypt on July 27.
Italian fencer Luigi Samele celebrates on the podium after winning a bronze medal in the individual sabre competition on July 27.
Australia's Jessica Fox competes in kayak single heats on July 27.
Harry Hepworth of Great Britain competes on the rings during qualifying on July 27.
Swimmers Jack Alexy, Chris Guiliano, Hunter Armstrong and Caeleb Dressel celebrate on July 27 after winning the men's 4x100-meter freestyle relay and claiming the United States' first gold medal of the Paris Olympics. The result also continued Dressel’s streak of winning gold in every Olympic race in which he’s competed. He won five gold medals in Tokyo.
Germany's Lukas Maertens falls back on a lane rope after winning the 400-meter freestyle on July 27.
Fiji's Selestino Ravutaumada carries the ball during the rugby sevens final against France on July 27. France won the match for its first gold medal of these Games.
French basketball superstar Victor Wembanyama celebrates a Brazil turnover during the teams' opening game on July 27. Wembanyama had 19 points, nine rebounds, two assists, four steals and three blocks as France won 78-66.
US swimmer Gretchen Walsh, second from right, set a new Olympic record in the 100-meter butterfly during a semifinal race on July 27. She finished in 55.38 seconds.
China’s Huang Yuting, left, competes in the 10-meter air rifle mixed-team shooting competition with Sheng Lihao on July 27. They won the first gold medal of the Paris Olympics.
French fans show their support during a judo event on July 27.
US divers Sarah Bacon, left, and Kassidy Cook compete in the synchronized 3-meter springboard event on July 27. They earned silver — the United States’ first medal of this year's Games. The gold went to China's Chang Yani and Chen Yiwen.
Japanese fencer Miho Yoshimura, left, competes against Rwanda’s Tufaha Uwihoreye in an épée round-of-64 bout on July 27. The Grand Palais, an exhibition hall and event center located off the Champs-Élysées, is the cavernous home to all the fencing competitions at the Paris Olympics.
Canada’s Félix Dolci competes on the high bar during the gymnastics qualification round on July 27.
Spectators at the Roland Garros Stadium take shelter from the rain as wet weather delays the start of tennis play on July 27.
French judoka Teddy Riner, right, and former French track star Marie-José Pérec watch theOlympic cauldronrise in a hot-air balloon after they lit it at the end of the opening ceremony in Paris on Friday, July 26. The first hot-air balloon flight was performed in France in 1783.
Canadian singer Celine Dionperforms Edith Piaf’s “Hymne À L’Amour,”one of the French singer’s most well-known songs, on the Eiffel Tower at the end of the opening ceremony. It washer first performancesince her diagnosis with stiff person syndrome.
Volunteers carry flags on the Jena Bridge, which crosses the Seine River in Paris, during the opening ceremony.
The ceremony speeches were held in front of the Eiffel Tower following the Parade of Nations.
US flag bearers LeBron James and Coco Gauff travel with other American athletes during the Parade of Nations, which took place on boats in the Seine River.
The flag of St. Kitts and Nevis is reflected in the glasses of a spectator during the opening ceremony.
French athletes wave flags as they travel down the Seine during the Parade of Nations.
The opening ceremonydepicted scenes from the French Revolution. Here, smoke billows near windows at the Conciergerie, the site where Marie Antoinette, the last French queen prior to the revolution, was imprisoned.
Parisians wait inside their apartment to watch the Parade of Nations from a window.
This aerial photo shows the Notre Dame cathedral as boats pass by on the Seine. As part of the opening ceremony,the bells of Notre Dame rang for the first timesince the iconic cathedral was gutted by fire in 2019. It is 90% restored.
Travellers from Sydney wait outside the Gare Montparnasse train station on July 26. Just hours before the opening ceremony,France’s high-speed train lines were targeted by several “malicious” acts, including arson, in what has been described as “coordinated sabotage” to disrupt travel ahead of the Games.
Rapper Snoop Dogg carries the Olympic torch during the torch relay on July 26.
American gymnast Simone Biles trains on Thursday, July 25. Biles is looking to regain the individual all-around title she won in the 2016 Olympics.
Japan's Aoba Fujino, second from left, celebrates with teammates after scoring against Spain on July 25. But Spain won the match 2-1.
South Korea’s Lim Si-hyeon competes in archery on July 25.She shot a world and Olympic record 694in the individual ranking round.
Soccer players from France and the United States line up before the start of their match on Wednesday, July 24.
The moon is seen through the Olympic rings on the Eiffel Tower on Tuesday, July 23.
Australian surfer Molly Picklum trains in Tahiti on Sunday, July 21. Tahiti, an island in French Polynesia,is hosting the Olympic surfing competition.
French Minister of Sports and Olympic and Paralympic Games Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, left, and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, center, release doves after a Mass in Paris on July 19.
The best photos of the Paris Olympics
Biles showed absolutely no sign of that calf injury throughout Tuesday’s team final. Whether it was adrenaline or the pain had truly melted away in the Parisian heat, Biles – at age 27, the oldest American to ever win an Olympic gymnastics medal and now the most decorated American gymnast ever in the Games – turned back the years and made it feel like 2016 again.
But unlike that exquisite performance in Rio de Janeiro, Biles knew what this meant. She knew what she had to go through to get here. It was written all over her face in the final moments as she waited for her score.
Gripping the floor apparatus, staring up at the Bercy Arena’s big screen, Biles had to have known she’d done enough to win the gold. But when the score popped up – 14.666, more than enough to clinch the gold – she exploded, elation released.
First, it was a jumping hug with her teammates before posing with Old Glory on the floor that she had just dominated. Then it was a light jog around that same floor with her teammates to soak in the chants of “U-S-A! U-S-A!” that rained down on them.
And as the “Star-Spangled Banner” played during the medal ceremony, with gold once again around her neck, Biles had to have felt like she just climbed one of the biggest mountains in sports.
“Now that I’m much older and we have so much more experience, we’re out here really having fun and enjoying what we’re doing. So I think it’s just different,” Biles said afterward.
Yet she’s not done; the individual all-around – which she won in 2016 and decided not to compete in three years ago – comes on Thursday, the vault on Friday and the beam and floor exercises on Monday.
But for at least the next couple of days, Biles can look at the gold medal draped around her neck and know that she had just cemented her place in gymnastics – and Olympics – history.
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