United States gymnast Sunisa Lee took the gold in the women’s all-around event in an unexpected win Thursday. Fellow gymnast Simone Biles did not compete. The video above shows some of the scenes from Lee’s gold medal performance, as well as reaction from he father John.
Lee scored a 57.433 total, beating out Brazil’s Rebreca Andrade who won silver and Russian gymnast Angelina Melnikova who won bronze.
Andrade had the lead after two rotations, but Lee took over after scoring a 13.833 on the balance beam. Andrade had the best floor score of the contenders during qualifying. However, on the last rotation Thursday, she stepped out of bounds twice to seal the gold for Lee.
Despite the disappointing finish, Andrade became the first Latin American athlete to win a gymnastics all-around medal. Angelina Melnikova’s bronze medal comes two days after leading the ROC to gold in the team final.
Lee’s gold win keeps the U.S. streak of dominance in the event alive. Now, Americans have won the all-around gold at five straight Olympics. Lee is also the third straight woman of color to grab Olympic gold for the Americans, joining Biles in 2016 and Gabby Douglas in 2012.
The streak was in danger when Biles withdrew during the team final Tuesday, deciding she was not mentally prepared to compete. Biles has won almost every major international competition since 2013. The only exception was the 2017 world championships, when Biles did not compete.
Lee’s win over Biles in the finals on the second night of the Olympic Trials in June could be considered foreshadowing. Lee accomplished the feat after dealing with ankle injuries so painful she was limping at times during the U.S. championships earlier in the month.
Biles was at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre Thursday cheering in the stands with teammates Grace McCallum, Jordan Chiles and MyKayla Skinner. As of late Thursday morning, it was unclear if Biles will compete in next week’s individual events.
Jade Carey, who replaced Biles in the all-around finals, finished ninth.
