Simone Biles led the United States to a dominant victory in the women’s gymnastics team final on Tuesday, laying the ghosts of Tokyo to rest as she claimed a fifth career Olympic gold medal.

Three years after Biles battled a disorientating mental block in Tokyo, pulling out of the team final in which the United States settled for silver, she and teammates Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Sunisa Lee led wire-to-wire in reclaiming gold ahead of Italy, with Brazil taking a historic bronze.

The Americans already had gold in hand when Biles electrified the Bercy Arena crowd with a gravity-defying floor routine that featured two of her signature skills — a double back flip with a half twist and the “triple-double” of two back flips with three twists.

She said she knew after she’d landed her opening vault — not her signature double Yurchenko but a marginally less difficult Cheng — that she and the USA were on their way.

“After I finished vault, I was relieved,” Biles said. “I was like, ‘Whew, because at least no flashbacks or anything.

“As soon as I landed vault, I was like, Oh yeah, I’m definitely — we’re going to do this.”

Who is Simone Arianne Biles?

Simone Arianne Biles Owens is an American gymnast who was born on March 14, 1997, in Columbus, Ohio, the third of four siblings. She and her siblings were brought up in foster care due to parental issues. She was later adopted, together with her younger sister, by Ron Biles and his second wife, Nellie Cayetano.

She schooled at Benfer Elementary School in Harris County, Texas, a public school, before switching to home schooling in 2012.

Biles first tried gymnastics when she was 6 years old during a day-care field trip. The instructors suggested she continue with the sport; she later enrolled in an optional training program at Bannon’s Gymnastics and began training with coach Aimee at age eight.

Bile is perceived as the most decorated gymnast in history, with eight Olympic and 30 World Championship medals.

Being one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, she is the fifth-most decorated female Olympic gymnast with eight Olympic medals, most of which are earned by a U.S. gymnast.

She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022 by President Joe Biden.

In 2023, she broke the 90-year-old U.S. gymnastics title record previously held by Alfred Jochim after winning her eighth U.S. gymnastics title.

Story partly by AFP