Simone Biles Thought ‘Don’t Trip’ Right Before Gold Medal-Winning Vault in Paris Olympics Final
Simone Biles should also get a gold medal for Olympic commentary.
While speaking with NBC on Wednesday, August 7, the 27-year-old gymnast recapped her Yurchenko double pike vault during the individual event finals earlier this month.
“Well, right now I’m thinking, ‘Don’t trip, don’t trip [and] good hurdle,’” Biles quipped, watching back the routine before getting to the part where she tapped the vault table. “And this part, I kind of slipped on the table. I was like, ‘Pull, pull, pull, but don’t pull too hard.’”
She added, “Once I landed on my feet, I was just like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I just did it!’ I was so excited. I couldn’t believe this moment right here actually.”
Simone Biles Wins a Total of 4 Medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics
At the end of the vault, Biles stuck her landing and gave a salute to the judges before offering a pair of “little claps” with her hands.
Biles’ trick paid off, earning her the gold medal. Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade and Biles’ teammate Jade Carey took home silver and bronze, respectively.
Biles also walked away from the Olympics with a gold in the team finals — shared with Carey, 24, Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee and Hezly Rivera — and the individual all-around finals. In addition, Biles earned the silver medal in the floor exercises final after failing to place in the beam round.
“Beam final is always the most stressful,” Biles said in a Monday, August 5, press conference. “Usually we have musical or background noise, whatever that may be, and honestly we do better in environments when there’s noise going on because it feels most like practice. Today you could hear some of the Android ringtones going off, the photo flickers, whatever that was [and] so you try to stay in your zone.”
Every Medal Team USA Won at the 2024 Paris Olympics
Biles is now the most decorated American gymnast and the oldest all-around champion, but she’s not ready to think about the next competition.
“You guys really gotta stop asking athletes what’s next after they win a medal at the Olympics,” she wrote via X on Sunday, August 4. “Let us soak up the moment we’ve worked our whole lives for.”
Hours earlier, Biles was asked in a press conference whether she planned to defend her vault gold at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“Is this my last? Definitely [my final] Yurchenko double pike. I mean, I kinda nailed that one,” she said. “The next Olympics is at home [in Los Angeles]. So, you just never know. But, I am getting really old.”
