PARIS, France — Simone Biles landed her signature vault during the women's final, granting the gymnastics star her third gold medal of the Paris Games.
Biles delivered an astounding Yurchenko double pike, also known as the Biles II, during the event final. With Saturday's win, the gymnast secured her seventh Olympic gold.
She has spent years perfecting the move, which involves a roundoff onto the springboard, a back handspring onto the vault and ends with a piked double backflip to the landing.
Biles is the second woman to win vault twice, joining Vera Casalavska of Czechoslovakia as a two-time gold medalist on the vault. Along with the Yurchenko double pike, Biles also performed a stunning Cheng vault.
The 27-year-old star entered the final as the favorite but faced a tough challenge from Brazil's Rebeca Andrade, the defending Olympic champion in the event.
Andrade, who finished runner-up to Biles in the all-around final on Thursday, took silver, just ahead of American Jade Carey, who captured the bronze.
Biles now has 10 Olympic medals in her career, tied for the third most by a female gymnast. She also boosted her medal count at major international competitions to 40, the most by any gymnast.
The crowd inside a packed Bercy Arena roared when Biles was introduced. Wearing a sequined red leotard, she delivered another show-stopping performance in what could be the last vault competition of her life.
So far in Paris, the most decorated gymnast won gold in the individual all-around and helped the U.S. dominate in the team all-around final.
Biles will have two more chances to boost her medal haul in Paris. She will compete in the balance beam and floor exercise finals on Monday.
