Simone Biles withdrew from the Tokyo trials, citing mental health concerns, and then dedicated time to caring for herself, both physically and mentally. This decision not only allowed her to regain her strength and well-being but also undoubtedly contributed to her outstanding performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

After a difficult childhood, she publicly denounced the mistreatment of her coach. The American gymnast has her own gospel, adapted for the 21st century, in the form of a documentary series on Netflix. Though her successful and triumphant comeback did not end with her ascent to Olympus, for as she has shown throughout her career, Biles is human.

A human being who borders on the divine, who christens her routines with her nickname, and who has shone with three gold medals and a silver, taking her Olympic tally to eleven, and up to 40 if you count the World Championships.

Her last act of humanity, on the day she failed to win the two gold medals she had been aiming for, was to kneel on the podium and pay tribute to the woman who had followed her, the Brazilian Rebeca Andrade, who had won gold on the floor.

Her name became synonymous with perfection, so much so that competing against her was a prize in itself for her rivals. In her wake other stars of artistic gymnastics were in danger of being overshadowed, such as the Chinese team, her team-mate Suni Lee, Rebeca Andrade from Brazil, Kaylia Nemour from Algeria and Angel Barajas from Colombia, not forgetting the role played by Carlos Edriel from the Philippines.

Biles took gold in the women's all-around (in a session in which bronze went to her USA teammate Sunisa Lee and silver to Brazil's Rebeca Andrade). She also took gold in the women's vault, with another US teammate, Jade Carey, taking bronze and Andrade taking silver. She shone in the women's team competition with another gold in the all-around and a silver on the floor.

Final balance

In the final artistic gymnastics podium, the gold medal in the women's floor exercise went to Rebeca Andrade of Brazil, accompanied by Simone Biles of the USA and Ana Maria Barbosu of Romania (after a convoluted process in which the third place was awarded to her, then to Jordan Chiles of the USA and finally back to the Romanian).

In the women's uneven bars, the gold went to Algeria's Kaylia Nemour. Her story is also one of redemption, from boycott and confrontation with the French federation to a welcome in Algeria, where her father is from, and for which she won the first gold in the history of the African continent.  The women's balance beam gold went to Alice D'amato of Italy.

In the men's all-around, Japan's Shinnosuke Oka took gold, with silver and bronze going to China's Boheng Zang and Ruoteng Xiao; in the men's parallel bars, China's Jingyuan Zou took first place; and in the men's uneven bars, gold went to Japan's Shinnosuke Oka and silver to Colombia's Angel Barajas, who made history for his country by winning its first gold medal in the event at the age of 17.

In the men's vault, Ireland's Rhys Mc Clenaghan took gold, Kazakhstan's Nariman Kurbanov silver and USA's Stephen Nedoroscik bronze. In the men's rings, China won gold and silver (Yang Liou and Jingzyuan Zou), while bronze went to Eletherios Petrounias of Greece. In the men's vault, gold went to Carlos Edriel Yulo of the Philippines.

In the men's team artistic gymnastics, gold went to Japan, silver to China and bronze to the USA, while in the women's team artistic gymnastics, gold went to the USA, silver to Italy and bronze to Brazil.

In the men's floor exercise, gold went to Carlos Edriel Yulo of the Philippines, silver to Artem Dolgopyat of Israel and bronze to Great Britain's Jake Arman.