In the absence of Simone Biles, Suni Lee became the fifth straight U.S. gymnast to win gold in the women's all-around.
Suni Lee became the latest from Team USA to win an Olympic gold medal in women's all-around gymnastics, a streak that dates back to 2004 in Athens.
With Simone Biles cheering her on in the crowd, the 18-year-old from Saint Paul, Minn., put on a stunning display in the second rotation on uneven bars, her best event, to pull away from Brazil's Rebeca Andrade.
Andrade, Latin America's first medalist in the event, started with the lead after posting the top score on vault in the opening rotation, but stepped out of bounds twice during the floor routine in the final rotation, which sealed the win for Lee.
Biles, the 2016 all-around gold medalist, announced Wednesday she wouldn't participate in the competition and has yet commit to competing again in the Olympics. But Lee stepped right in with a score of 57.433 to top Andrade by 0.135 points. Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) gymnast Angelina Melnikova took the bronze.
ROC finished first in the team all-around event on Tuesday after Biles withdrew during the opening routine on vault. Jade Carey, the American gymnast who replaced Biles in the individual all-around event, finished ninth.
Lee joins Mary Lou Retton, Carly Patterson, Nastia Liukin, Gabby Douglas and Biles as the sixth U.S. woman to win gold and the fifth straight American to win the event.
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