Biles won her fifth Olympic gold - USA won the final

Gymnastics queen Simone Biles, 27, has taken her fifth Olympic Games gold in her career. USA won the team final as expected - in front of a larger celebrity crowd at Bercy Arena in Paris. We did it, said the 27-year-old when she hugged her teammates after the gold was secured.

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Biles won her fifth Olympic gold - USA won the final
Photo: Natacha Pisarenko/AP/TT

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Three years ago, American Simone Biles broke the gymnastics team final at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Just hours later, she herself said:

I need to focus on my mental health.

The superstar has since been praised for her openness about her mental health issues and after a long break, she made a competitive comeback last summer.

Kidman in the stands

Now the 27-year-old is back on the Olympic floor and already in Sunday's qualifying round, stars like artist Lady Gaga and actor Tom Cruise were seen in the stands at Bercy Arena in the French capital.

The stars also flocked to the team final on Tuesday evening. The two actors Nicole Kidman and Nathalie Portman, for example, were in the stands, as was the retired tennis icon Serena Williams, according to the AP news agency.

Biles and her teammates Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles, and Jade Carey did not disappoint. The USA led by a large margin already after two apparatus rotations, and when all four events - beam, bars, vault, and floor exercise - were completed, the margin of victory was crushing.

The USA won with 171.296 points - nearly six points ahead of second-place Italy. Brazil took the bronze with 164.497 points.

Four Olympic golds to come?

After four Olympic golds in Rio de Janeiro 2016, Simone Biles now has five Olympic golds. She has a chance to win four more golds in Paris - the 27-year-old has qualified for the individual all-around final as well as the event finals in vault, floor exercise, and beam.

If the American reaches nine Olympic golds, she will tie Larisa Latynina, Soviet Union, who has won the most golds in Olympic history in gymnastics on the women's side.

The team gold in Paris is the USA's first since 2016. When Biles broke off the team competition in Tokyo, the USA had to settle for an Olympic silver after Russia took home the gold.

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By TTEnglish edition by Sweden Herald, adapted for local and international readers

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