Individual All-Around, Women

All eyes for the gold in this event were on six-time World Champion and 2016 Olympic Champion Simone Biles. She had pulled out of the 2020 final after mental issues during the team competition and had taken a leave of absence from gymnastics, but she had returned successfully at the 2023 Worlds. The 2020 champion, her compatriot Suni Lee, was also in Paris and a challenger for the gold. The 2022 World Champion Rebeca Andrade was also favored, while 2021 World Champion Angelina Melnikova of Russia was not allowed to compete.

In qualifying, Biles made clear that she was going to defend her title. She posted the best (all-around) score on three apparatuses, and by a wide margin on vault (0.9) and floor (0.7). Andrade came second in the same three events for an overall second place, with Lee coming in third. Biles’ score in the final was slightly lower, but she again posted the top score on vault, beam, and floor. Especially her floor exercise was exceptional, with an incredible 15.066 score. Andrade was a clear second, while Lee held on for bronze despite challenges by Alice D’Amato and Kaylia Nemour, who gained the most points on the uneven bars.

With her all-around gold, Biles became only the third gymnast to win the title twice, joining all-time greats Larisa Latynina and Věra Čáslavská, with Biles being the first to win the golds non-consecutively. Andrade won her second silver after 2024, becoming the first athlete to win two silvers in the event. With Biles’ title, the USA had won the event at every Games since 2004. The 2024 gold was the seventh for the United States in the event, surpassing the Soviet Union, which won six between 1952 and 1988.