US gymnast Lee wins Olympic all-around gold as Biles cheers on

U.S.'s Sunisa Lee pose with the Tokyo 2020 Olympics gymnastics women's individual all-around gold, Ariake Gymnastics Center, Tokyo, Japan, July 29, 2021.

by French Press Agency - AFP

Jul 29, 2021 4:41 pm

American teenager Sunisa Lee clinched the women's gymnastics all-around Olympic gold Thursday.

She succeeds compatriot and defending champion Simone Biles, who withdrew over concerns for her mental health.

Lee, 18, won ahead of Brazil's Rebeca Andrade, with Russian women's team gold medallist Angelina Melnikova in the bronze medal position.

U.S.'s Sunisa Lee in action during floor exercise at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics gymnastics women's individual all-around final, Ariake Gymnastics Center, Tokyo, Japan, July 29, 2021.

It was the fourth final in four days to go down to the final rotation, with Lee's polished floor exercise earning 13.7 to go into provisional gold, with Andrade unable to dislodge her.

Lee, from Minneapolis, added gold to the silver she won as part of the US women's team on Tuesday with a points tally of 57.433, 0.144 clear of Andrade, with Melnikova 0.099 away in third.

Biles, who stood down from the Olympics during the women's team final, was in the stands to cheer on her compatriot.