That makes *three* gold medals for Biles now in Rio, and her first vault win on the world stage. She’d won the gold!
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The Americans did receive a jolt of good news for the US men’s program, which finished fifth in the team competition and failed to pick up a medal in the all-around last week, when Alex Naddour picked up bronze on pommels behind Whitlock and rival and teammate Louis Smith. What was at stake for the 19-year-old gymnast: Her third gold medal of the games and her first world win on the vault. Russia’s Maria Paseka scored 15.253 to take home a second place finish, one year after being named the 2015 world champion on vault. Bronze medalist Giulia Steingruber had the next highest individual vault score with a 15.533. Biles has placed only second or third in the vault event at the past three World Championships.
Both Paseka and Biles compete the same two vaults: the two and a half twisting Amanar and the Cheng. Her score was the highest of the group: 16.033. “It’s something that I wanted so badly”, she said. Her toes are pointed, her legs together and straightened.
Biles scored 15.966 points – the average of her two vaults – and was the only gymnast to surpass 16 points on any vault. Whitlock’s score of 15.633 was just enough to edge Hypolito, who finished with a 15.533.
Guilia Steingruber of Switzerland grabbed the bronze medal to earn herself a piece of history. It ended when Mustafina nailed her dismount on her way to an eighth Olympic medal. She had two very clean vaults en route to her spot on the podium. (However, because it is so hard, few gymnasts can perform it without a fall, which incurs a deduction of 1.0.) The difficulty value of the Produnova can make it worth the risk, but for Karmakar and Chusovitina today, the risk did not pay off; they finished in fourth and sixth place, respectively.
Chusovitina, as well as Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar, the first Indian woman to qualify for an Olympic event final, both performed the world’s most risky vault, the Produnova. Karmakar landed the Produnova, first on her feet, then on her butt, then back to her feet. The difficulty paid off as she picked up a 15.266 despite the fall.
The vault final was the first of three individual events Biles qualified to compete in, and she’ll take to the gym floor on Monday to go for a medal in beam and on Tuesday to try and medal in the floor exercise final.
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She also said she was disappointed in her first vault.
