Sharjah24 – AFP: Simone Biles won the fifth Olympic gold of her legendary career as she led the United States to an emphatic victory in the women's gymnastics team final on Tuesday, as Daniel Wiffen made Irish history in swimming.
On a sweltering day in Paris where temperatures reached 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit), the hottest ticket in town was at the Bercy Arena where Biles was attempting to lay the ghosts of Tokyo 2021 to rest.
The 27-year-old American -- considered the greatest gymnast of all time -- and her team did just that to add to her four gold medals at the 2016 Rio Games.
Three years ago in Tokyo Biles battled a disorientating mental block that gymnasts call the "twisties", and without her the USA had to settle for silver.
But with Biles back to her brilliant best, she and teammates Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Sunisa Lee led wire-to-wire to reclaim gold ahead of Italy, with Brazil taking bronze.
For Biles it marks a return to the Olympic summit after a two-year break as she focused on her mental health. Lee, the all-around champion in Tokyo, has since dealt with two career-threatening kidney ailments.
Biles said her second team gold -- eight years after her first -- felt different.
"It was just like we were a little young and naive," she said of 2016. "So it didn't hit the way that it does now.
"Now that I'm much older, we have so much more experience and we're out here really having fun and enjoying what we're doing."
Once again the stars were out for Biles.
Serena Williams, Nicole Kidman and Bill Gates were in attendance, as was Biles's husband, NFL player Jonathan Owens, in a T-shirt emblazoned with his wife's name and picture.
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