US gymnast Jade Carey wins gold in floor exercise final at Tokyo Olympics

TOKYO — American gymnast Jade Carey won the gold medal in the women’s floor exercise final Monday at the Tokyo Olympics.

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Photos: Jade Carey wins gold in floor exercise final at Tokyo Olympics Jade Carey, of the United States, poses after winning the gold medal for the floor exercise during the artistic gymnastics women's apparatus final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 2, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

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According to USA Gymnastics, the 21-year-old Carey, who qualified for Team USA as an individual, finished in first place with a score of 14.366. Italy’s Vanessa Ferrari won silver with a 14.2 score, while Japan’s Mai Murakami and Angelina Melnikova, of the Russian Olympic Committee, tied for bronze with a 14.166 score.

>> RELATED STORY: Who is Jade Carey, gymnast replacing Simone Biles in Olympic all-around?

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Photos: Sunisa Lee, Jade Carey compete in Olympic gymnastics all-around Sunisa Lee, of the United States, right, embraces teammate Jade Carey after her performance on the uneven bars during the artistic gymnastics women's all-around final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 29, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Carey’s teammate Simone Biles, often described as the greatest gymnast of all time, also qualified last week for the floor final but withdrew from the event, as well as the team, individual all-around, vault and uneven bars finals, to focus on her mental health. Biles, 24, later revealed that she was suffering from “the twisties,” a mental block that causes athletes to lose awareness of their position midair, USA Today reported.

Following Biles’ withdrawal, fellow Americans Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles and Grace McCallum went on to win the silver medal in the team final. In Thursday’s all-around competition, Lee ended up capturing the gold medal, while Carey, who replaced Biles, finished in eighth place.

>> RELATED STORY: Who is Sunisa Lee, gold medalist in Olympic gymnastics all-around?

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Photos: Sunisa Lee wins gold in Olympic gymnastics all-around Sunisa Lee, of United States, reacts as she poses for a picture after winning the gold medal in the artistic gymnastics women's all-around final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 29, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

MyKayla Skinner, also of the United States, took Biles’ place in Sunday’s vault final and won the silver medal, while Carey stumbled and finished in eighth place. Lee later won the bronze in the uneven bars final.

>> RELATED STORY: MyKayla Skinner wins silver in vault as replacement for Simone Biles

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Photos: MyKayla Skinner wins silver after replacing Simone Biles in Olympic vault final From left, MyKayla Skinner of the United States, Rebeca Andrade of Brazil and Yeo Seo-jeong of South Korea, pose with their medals for the vault during the artistic gymnastics women's apparatus final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 1, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Just minutes before Monday’s floor exercise final, USA Gymnastics confirmed that Biles will compete in the balance beam final Tuesday, joining Lee.

>> RELATED STORY: Simone Biles to compete in Tuesday’s balance beam final at Tokyo Olympics

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