BBC Online :
Simone Biles was at her brilliant best to recapture her all-around gymnastics crown on day six of the Paris Olympics.
American Biles, 27, became the oldest winner of her sport’s blue-riband event for 72 years and just the third woman to win two all-around Olympic titles after Vera Caslavska and Larisa Latynina.
Earlier on Thursday, Team GB missed out on the rowing gold they craved but added three more medals at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.
It keeps GB on track to better the haul of Tokyo three years ago, where they had 18 by the same stage on day six.
Helen Glover, Esme Booth, Sam Redgrave and Rebecca Shorten took silver in a thrilling women’s four race after being edged out by just 0.18 seconds by the Netherlands.
Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne and Becky Wilde earlier clinched bronze in the women’s doubles sculls, while Oli Wilkes, David Ambler, Matt Aldridge and Freddie Davidson also claimed bronze in the men’s four.
But there was disappointment for British 800m medal hope Jake Wightman, who has withdrawn from the Games because of a hamstring injury.
Widely regarded as the greatest gymnast of all time, Biles made history as the first women to reclaim the Olympic all-around title, having first won it in 2016 at the Rio Games.
Despite pulling out of most of her events at Tokyo 2020 after experiencing the ‘twisties’ – a disorientating mental block – she was already the most decorated gymnast coming into the Paris Games.
And she underlined her enduring excellence in a gruelling sport that has traditionally been dominated by teenagers.
An electrifying display got under way with a sensational vault that scored 15.766 and while there was a rare mistake on the uneven bars, she did not put a foot wrong thereafter.
She concluded with a peerless floor routine to take gold well ahead of Brazil’s silver medallist Rebeca Andrade and defending champion Sunisa Lee, who took bronze.