RIO DE JANEIRO _ Even the announcers at Rio Olympic Arena conceded the lack of drama in Thursday's women's all-around competition. "Simone Biles and Aly Raisman are expected to run away with it," one said, referring to the two American gymnasts. "The battle today is for bronze."
Biles trailed Russia's Aliya Mustafina by a tiny margin _ .034 of a point _ after the first two rotations. But she closed the competition with her two best events, balance beam and floor exercise, to become the fourth consecutive U.S. gymnast to win Olympic all-around gold. Biles' gravity-defying floor routine, which includes a move named after her, put an exclamation point on a bravura performance and gave her 62.198 points.
Her teammate, Raisman, steadily climbed from fourth place after two rotations to earn the silver medal. Raisman ended with a spectacular routine on floor exercise to move into second, bursting into tears when she finished. She had a total of 60.098 points. Mustafina was third with 58.665.
Mustafina lost her shot at an upset on the balance beam, where Biles outscored her 15.433 to 13.866. Biles wobbled only once, while Mustafina _ the 2012 Olympic bronze medalist in all-around _ had two balance checks and a big step on the dismount.
Biles, Mustafina and Raisman competed head-to-head in the same group. Biles took an early lead with a solid Amanar vault, scoring 15.866. Mustafina, the reigning world champion on uneven bars, passed her on that apparatus. Mustafina earned a score of 15.666, while Biles earned 14.966 for a good but unspectacular routine on her least impressive event.
Biles, of Spring, Texas, joins Carly Patterson (2004), Nastia Liukin (2008) and Gabby Douglas (2012) in a string of American all-around champions at the Summer Games. She led the U.S. to team gold on Tuesday and will compete in three individual event finals _ floor exercise, balance beam and vault _ giving her a chance to leave Rio with five gold medals.
The title also extended Biles' string of all-around championships at major competitions. She has won the past three world championships and the past four U.S. titles. Her 14 world championships medals are the most in U.S. history, and her 10 golds are the most won by any gymnast.
