No Simone Biles, no problem! Sunisa Lee made sure the gold medal stayed in Team USA's hands as she captured the individual all-around title in women's gymnastics at the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday.
She became the fifth straight American woman to clinch the Olympic gold medal in this event, defeating Brazil's Rebeca Andrade in a highly entertaining and nail-biting final. Lee now has two medals in this year's Summer Games, adding to the silver she won in the team final, which saw the sudden withdrawal of Biles due to mental health concerns.
Lee takes full advantage of Biles' withdrawal
Biles decided afterward to withdraw from the individual all-around competition as well, an event she was widely tipped to dominate. That opened the door for her American compatriot Lee to win her maiden gold medal in the Olympics. She had to work hard for it, with Andrade pushing her the rest of the way.
In the end, Lee's total score of 57.433 points was enough to overcome Andrade, who became the first Latin American athlete to win a medal in the all-around event in gymnastics. Andrade's silver was also Brazil's first medal of any color in women's gymnastics, a fantastic achievement indeed.
But the night belonged to Lee, who delivered solid routines throughout the final. She started the event with a 14.6 on the vault to land in fourth place after the first rotation. Lee then stormed into second place after the second rotation with a stunning 15.3 on the uneven bars, the highest score in the competition.
Lee then took over first place after the beam rotation, landing a score of 13.833 to push her tally to 43.733 points. That set the stage for a nervy finale in the floor routine with Lee and Andrade in contention for the gold medal.
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Lee holds off Andrade to win gold for Team USA
Lee settled the Americans' nerves with a solid 13.7 score while Andrade's gold medal hopes were shattered after the Brazilian stepped out of bounds two times during her floor routine. Lee's family back in the United States erupted in celebration once Andrade's score of 13.666 was announced, which locked in the gold for the American.
Also cheering on Lee inside the venue was Biles, who was proud to see her teammate capture the title she won convincingly in 2016. Lee's win was a victory for American diversity as well as she became the third straight woman of color to nab Olympic gold in this event, joining Gabby Douglas in 2012 and Biles in 2016.
It has been a tremendous journey for Lee, who dealt with painful ankle injuries during the U.S. championships just last month. She persevered, however, even beating Biles during the second night of the U.S. Olympic trials. Now she is an Olympic champion and the new darling of USA Gymnastics.
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