USA’s Sunisa Lee won the women’s all-around gymnastics gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday as Simone Biles cheered on from the stands at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre.
Lee finished ahead of Rebeca Andrade from Brazil and Angelina Melnikova of Russia in third. This extends a streak of five all-around Olympic golds to the USA.
After the third rotation, Lee, now 18, took over from Andrade and became Brazil’s first Olympic gymnastics medalist. She won her victory with 13.700 points for her floor routine.
Biles’ withdrawal of from the final to preserve her mental health was a major factor in the buildup to the event. Biles, who was a four-time Olympic gold medalist, and an all-around Rio champion five years ago, pulled out of this week’s team competition.
Biles, a teammate and good friend Jordan Chiles was there to cheer on Lee and Jade Carey from the USA.
This gold medal is in addition to the silver Lee that Team USA won on Tuesday in the team competition. Her victory brings the US level with the Soviet Union, which has six wins in the women’s all-around.
Lee began the evening with a vault score of 14.600, before moving on to the medal positions with 15.300 for the uneven bars.
Andrade was able to take the lead with 13.833 on balance beam. Andrade then took the lead on her floor routine, ending her hopes of winning a gold medal after Lee’s 13.700.