The 2024 Paris Olympics featured a historic showdown on Thursday, as Simone Biles and Suni Lee faced off for the all-around gymnastics title, marking the first time the past two Olympic champions would compete against one another. The American gymnasts have won the last five all-around titles, beginning with Carly Patterson in 2004, then Nastia Liukin in 2008 and Gabby Douglas in 2012. Biles won the 2016 all-around in Rio with Lee winning gold at the 2020 Tokyo games.
After a tough back and forth between the two Americans and Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, Biles nailed her floor routine and reclaimed the crown — becoming the first woman to win two Olympic all-around titles since Czechoslovakia’s Vera Caslavska in 1964 and 1968. Andrade won the silver medal, while Lee earned the bronze.
Martha Stewart, Seth Rogen, Kendall Jenner, Stephen Curry, Tony Hawk, Tony Parker and Bill Gates were among the notables spotted in the stands on Thursday, adding to the troupe of A-list Hollywood and sports stars who’ve made appearances at the artistic gymnastics competitions in Bercy Arena.
Those weren’t the only stars who watched Biles and Lee make history: Quinta Brunson posted a shot to her Instagram stories, writing that “the [“Abbott Elementary”] writers room stops for Simone Biles.” Samuel L. Jackson wrote that Biles is the “greatest I’ve ever seen!”
In addition to the new gold medal around her neck, Biles also sported a necklace with bejeweled goat pendant — emphasizing her status as the greatest gymnast of all time.
Simone Biles with her gold medal following the women’s all-around final at the Paris Olympics on Aug. 1.
Biles and Lee already added to their gold medal count as part of Team USA’s “Golden Girls” squad , with Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles and Hezly Rivera. The crowd at the team final on Tuesday included Michael Phelps and Serena Williams (the GOATs of swimming and tennis, respectively); Oscar winners Spike Lee, Natalie Portman and Nicole Kidman (with Keith Urban); Jason and Kylie Kelce; and “Today” anchors Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb.
Spotted during the qualifying round on Sunday were Snoop Dogg, who is part of NBC’s Olympic broadcast team; Tom Cruise, seated next to Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav and just behind Greta Gerwig; Lady Gaga; Jessica Chastain; “Wicked” stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande; Baz Luhrmann; Nick Jonas; Vogue’s Anna Wintour; John Legend and Chrissy Teigen and more.
Biles’ latest win comes amid her and Team USA’s “redemption tour” following the Tokyo games, which saw the gymnast scratch from the team finals with a bout of the twisties (a dangerous phenomenon where a gymnast loses track of their body while in the air). The first two episodes of Netflix docuseries “Simone Biles Rising” captured the behind-the-scenes drama of that moment, how Biles dealt with the fallout and what it took for her to mount this incredible comeback, all while prioritizing her mental health.
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