Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade has added a gold medal on vault to go with the silver she earned in the all-around.
Andrade put together a pair of soaring vaults to post an average of 15.083. The medals Andrade has won in Tokyo are the first and second ever for Brazil in women’s gymnastics at the Games.
American MyKayla Skinner, who entered the competition after defending Olympic champion Simone Biles pulled out to focus on her mental health, captured the silver. The 24-year-old was an alternate on the 2016 US Olympic team then spent three years at the University of Utah before returning to elite competition in 2019. Yeo Seojeong of Korea took the bronze.
Elsewhere on Sunday, Sunisa Lee will have her bag stuffed with medals when she heads back to the United States.
The 18-year-old from Minnesota added a bronze in the uneven bars finals on Sunday. Lee earned a silver in the team competition on Tuesday before grabbing gold in the all-around on Thursday.
Lee has endured a whirlwind that comes with the territory when you win an Olympic title. The three days since her star-making triumph has featured the usual trappings of instant fame: from the social media shoutouts by celebrities to a crush of new followers on Instagram to a series of interviews.
She and Nina Derwael of Belgium are the two best bar workers in the world, their routines are jam-packed with a series of difficult connections and releases strung together with such ease it seems like they’re making it up as they go along.
Wearing a dazzling crystal-laden blue leotard, Lee led off and wasn’t quite as crisp as usual. She failed to connect a couple of elements early in her set, costing her tenths of a point along the way.
Derwael, a two-time world champion in the event, was a little more fluid. Her 15.2 was easily the highest of the night and gave Belgium their first-ever gold in artistic gymnastics.