Simone Biles made history on Thursday, and in doing so further cemented herself as one of the greats in gymnastics history.
At the age of 27, the American became the oldest gymnast to win the gold medal in the all-around competition and just the third woman in history to win multiple golds in the event.
Biles had to rally after a mistake on the uneven bars, but was still able to edge Rebeca Andrade of Brazil.
“It is crazy I am in the conversation of the greatest of all time,” Biles said, per USA Today. “I just think I’m still Simone Biles from Spring, Texas, who loves to flip.”
Andrade finished with a silver and American Suni Lee took home the bronze.
Biles is the first woman to win non-consecutive gold medals in the all-around, having finished first in 2016.
After the uneven bars, Biles was third behind Andrade and Kaylia Nemour of Algeria.
However, she responded like a champion.
Biles came through with a big routine on the balance beam and was typically dominant on the floor exercise to win her second gold of these Olympics.
She was part of the U.S. women’s team that came in first in the team final on Tuesday.
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She now owns nine Olympic medals – the most ever by an American gymnast — and six golds.
Biles may not be done. She will compete in the apparatus finals for balance beam, floor exercise and vault.
Her showing in Paris has been redemption.
At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Biles withdrew from the team final after dealing with what is called the “twisties” – she was losing a sense of where she was while in the air.
Biles withdrew from most of the other events that summer and took a two-year break from competitive gymnastics.
But after returning with a flourish last year, she has added to her legacy in Paris – and there may even be more to come for one of the greats in this sport.