Olympic gymnast Simone Biles made history on Saturday morning as she won the tenth medal of her career during the vault portion of artistic gymnastics, cementing her legacy as one of the greatest gymnasts and Olympians of all time.
Leading into the 2024 Olympic games, Biles was just outside the Top 10 list of American Olympians who won the most gold medals until Saturday, when she claimed the tenth spot.
Biles jumped past swimmer Ryan Lochte, who won six gold medals during his four Olympic appearances, according to Sports Illustrated.
This victory is not the only gold medal Biles has claimed in the last week. She also took first place in the individual all-around competition and as a member of the women’s all-around team competition.
Biles defeated Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade with an overall score of 15.300 to win the women’s vault, and Team USA’s Jade Carey won the bronze medal with a score of 14.466.
Andrade won the gold medal in this event during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after Biles opted to drop out, citing her case of the “twisties” as the main reason she was unable to compete.
This year’s competition was close as Andrade collected the higher score for execution in the first two jumps, though Biles’ difficulty in each of her jumps gave her the edge over the Brazilian.
The first jump Biles completed involved a move called the Yurchenko double pike, also known as the “Biles II.” This incredibly difficult move helped earn her a score of 15.700, per NBC News.
Biles then lined up for her second and final jump of the event and chose to perform the “Cheng,” a move that begins with a half-turn followed by a 1.5 twist in the air that earned her a score of 14.900 for the 15.300 average.
Biles’ victory has helped Team USA climb to a sizable lead in total Olympic medals. The U.S. has already earned 51 medals as it attempts to reach more than 100 medals for the sixth straight Olympics, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Gymnastics has played a large role in Team USA’s lead in the total medal count. The women’s team has collected five medals, while the men’s team has won two medals during the first week of the games.
