Simone Biles Wins Olympic All-Around To Cap Stunning Career Comeback

Simone Biles won the second all-around gold medal of her Olympics career on Thursday ― but it wasn’t easy.

After trailing halfway through the competition, Biles summoned her nerve and athleticism to secure gymnastics’ biggest individual prize eight years after she did it in the Rio Games.

Simone Biles got off to a strong start in the vault.

The American star fell to third place after an uneven-bars routine in which her feet nearly touched the ground while she compensated for an awkward maneuver. That left her little room for error in the final two rotations.

She responded with a solid balance beam routine to climb back into the lead with perhaps her strongest event ahead, the floor exercise.

Simone Biles' beam routine brought her back into the lead from third place.

Biles appeared to gain new confidence after her assured beam dismount,  clapping, smiling and waving to the crowd.

She then slammed the door on her opponents in signature style on the floor. She soared through her tumbling runs and smiled after each one. The gold was hers.

Simone Biles' smile was as good as gold during the floor exercise.

Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade earned a second straight silver in the event. The U.S.′s Suni Lee won bronze.

To some critics, Biles ’ comeback wouldn’t have been complete without a gold medal in the Paris all-around.

She excelled in qualifying for the event and then joyously led a determined squad to gold in the team competition on Tuesday, three years after she dropped out of that event in Tokyo. At the time, she was unable to find her inner compass in the air and was overcome by mental distress.

She later withdrew from the all-around in Tokyo, leaving Lee the spotlight under which she shined in winning gold. Over the next few years, Lee struggled with sudden fame and anxiety , attended college, and got blindsided by kidney disease .

Biles emerged from her disappointing games as a positive example of self-care to many while she became grist for critics who questioned her courage. Some conservatives even tried to score political points in insulting her. She got married and continued to make her case that she was still the phenom who won gold in Rio in 2016.

On an electric night in Paris, Lee and Biles’ paths collided in a historic competition featuring two all-around Olympic champions for the first time.

But it was Biles who made history.