Olympic gymnastics from Paris ended with one final magical twirl.
After the conclusion of the women’s floor exercise final on Monday, podium finishers Rebeca Andrade, Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles took a photo with one another.
The fun, though, was that Biles and Chiles bowed in honor of the gold medalist Andrade, who raised her arms triumphantly while smiling.
“This is everything,” wrote the official Olympics X account on the post, which amassed over 550,000 likes in less than six hours of being shared.
The 25-year-old Andrade narrowly defeated Biles to win gold, besting the American star with a 14.166 score compared to Biles’ 14.133.Meanwhile, Chiles wound up with bronze on inquiry at 13.766 for her first individual Olympic medal; she medaled in two team competitions, including winning gold this year.Andrade’s win was her first gold medal of the 2024 Games after notching two silvers (individual all-around and women’s vault), plus a bronze in team all-around.
The Brazilian also went toe-to-toe with Team USA’s loaded lineup three years ago in Tokyo, winning gold in vault and silver in all-around.
A second straight Olympics pitting Andrade against Biles proved intense — yet inspired mutual respect.
“I don’t want to compete with Rebeca no more. I’m tired!” Biles said, according to USA Today. “It’s way too close. … It definitely put me on my toes, and it brought out the best athlete in myself. So I’m excited and proud to compete with her but… I don’t like it!”
Chiles also wanted to reciprocate a showing of support.
“Why don’t we just give her her flowers? Not only has she given Simone her flowers, but a lot of us in the United States, our flowers as well,” Chiles said. “So giving it back is what makes it so beautiful. So I felt like it was needed.”
Biles eked out a vault gold win over Andrade but stumbled on the balance beam, dropping her to fifth place.
Nonetheless, the gymnast many dub the GOAT still earned four overall medals from Paris, including three in gold.
