Simone Biles bowed out of her Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro with a record-equaling fourth gold, short of the record five she sought, but with her name in lights among the greats of gymnastics.
“It’s been a long journey, but I’ve enjoyed every moment,” the Texan said.
The 19-year-old took gold on floor on Tuesday ahead of US teammate Amy Raisman, muscles flexed and with the steely determination she had shown on her way to the team, all-around and vault titles.
Photo: AP
The only blip standing between her and history was a slip on the beam on the penultimate day of competition, which gave her bronze.
She is the fifth woman to win four gold at the same Games after Hungarian Agnes Keleti (1956), Soviet Larissa Latynina (1956), Czech Vera Caslavska (1968) and Romanian Ecaterina Szabo (1984).
Biles remained unfazed.
“To walk away from your first Olympics with five medals and four in gold, how can you be disappointed?” she said. “It’s exciting it’s over, but kind of sad too.”
Biles missed London 2012 because she was too young to compete, but has dominated gymnastics in the four-year cycle since.
Finishing off on the podium beside Raisman, 22, was more than she could have hoped for.
“I remember watching her [in London] and saying: ‘I just want to be like her.’ Just standing next to her is amazing. It’s the cherry on top me and Aly finishing 1-2 on the floor.”
Her long-time coach Aimee Boorman believes the sport will never be the same after the Biles whirlwind.
“Right now I would say she’s the greatest gymnast,” said Boorman, who has coached Biles since she was six years old. “She has really raised the bar, but then four years ago nobody thought they would see a Simone Biles.”
Biles has won more world championships than any other woman in history, taking two gold at her first worlds in 2013.
Her epic Olympic adventure has seen Biles photographed alongside Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt and US swimming greats Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky.
She brushes aside all such comparisons.
“I’m not the next Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps, I’m the first Simone Biles,” she said.
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