Olympics-Gymnastics-Biles looks to strike gold again in Paris Games all-around final

By Karen Braun

PARIS (Reuters) - Simone Biles could claim her ninth Olympic medal in Thursday’s all-around final two days after leading the United States women to a gymnastics team gold in Paris.

Biles is the big favourite coming into the event after qualifying for the final by a healthy margin, and the drama may centre on the race for silver featuring a Tokyo rematch between defending champion Sunisa Lee of the U.S. and Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade.

Lee held off Andrade for gold in the Tokyo all-around final, from which Biles withdrew due to a potentially dangerous mental block known as the "twisties".

Andrade’s all-around score of 57.700 from Sunday’s qualification in Paris is the highest total posted by any woman this year aside from Biles, safely ahead of Lee’s qualifying score of 56.132.

But Lee is capable of a balance beam routine 0.7 points higher than her qualifying effort, putting pressure on Andrade to repeat her strong preliminary showing.

Another set of talented gymnasts are nipping at the favourites’ heels.

Breakout 17-year-old Algerian star Kaylia Nemour, known for her daredevil combinations on the asymmetric bars, qualified for the all-around final in fourth with a 55.966 and reigning European all-around champion Manila Esposito of Italy, also 17, was just behind on 55.898.

But China’s Qiu Qiyuan, who qualified in seventh with a disappointing total of 54.998, could also threaten. She suffered a fall and other missteps on the balance beam, where she has world-class difficulty, earning her a score almost two points below her likely target.

On the men's side, China and Japan will face off once again in Wednesday’s all-around final after a thrilling team result, where Japan staged a late comeback to stun China. In qualifying, Chinese ace Zhang Boheng notched up an impressive 88.597, besting Japan’s Oka Shinnosuke by 1.732 points.

Reigning Olympic champion Daiki Hashimoto of Japan qualified in third with 85.064, though his programme was riddled with uncharacteristic mistakes, and is a contender to repeat as all-around victor.

A skilled pair of Britons, Jake Jarman and Joe Fraser, who qualified in fifth and sixth, could nudge their way in amid any major errors by the top gymnasts.

Japan has claimed the last three men’s Olympic all-around titles and China has snagged two men’s all-around medals over the last five Games, including gold in 2008.

The U.S. women have captured the last five Olympic all-around titles, and an American woman also took silver in both 2008 and 2016.

(Additional reporting by Rory Carroll; editing by Clare Fallon)