So, surprisingly, is Great Britain’s. Steingruber became Switzerland’s first female gymnast ever to win an Olympic medal with her score of 15.216.
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In Lochte’s only individual swim in the summer games, Phelps surged to victory and the gold medal, becoming the only swimmer to win four consecutive gold medals in the same Olympic event.
The 19-year-old Texan led the USA women’s team to a record-margin victory in Tuesday’s team final and then followed that up two days later by outclassing the competition for gold in the individual all around.
Biles vaulted last in the lineup and knew exactly what she needed to score to take the top spot on the podium.
Biles packs so much difficulty into her routines that she starts with a point or two cushion.
Paseka, the 2015 world champion on vault, earned a score of 15.253. She also now has the most World Championship and Olympic medals of any gymnast. Manuel is the first African-American woman to win an individual gold medal in swimming, and neither herself nor Oleksiak were favorites to medal in this race. She will get a chance to stand atop the podium again when she competes in the balance beam finals Monday and the floor exercise final Tuesday.
“Hey, Simone, you did it”, Lauren Hernandez said to US teammate and Olympic Village roommate Simone Biles the morning after Biles won the Olympic all-around title.
Sophie Scheder of German was third. “Winning a medal today was the most important thing in my life”, the 30-year-old added.
And when I see how dedicated she is, it humbles me. The only thought Gabby Douglas should have as she walks away from Rio is she’s one of the best, most admirable Olympic gymnasts the United States has had. He scored 15.241 to finish fifth.
The Brazilians who did make it to the arena for more gymnastics were given a nice surprise-two medals in the men’s floor event, from Diego Hypolito and Arthur Mariano who earned silver and bronze behind Britain’s Max Whitlock.
After giving it all for the team, on Thursday, Biles competed in her own right.
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Americans Jacob Dalton and Samuel Mikulak finished sixth and eighth in the floor final.
