Simone Biles continuing to get better, wins third gold medal

Reporting from Rio de Janeiro —  Simone Biles owned the vault. Now she’s owning the medal podium.

Biles soared through the air — an unbeatable lightness of being — and secured the best score of the afternoon with her first vault. Her Olympian standards, however, are slightly higher than most, so she topped her score with her second vault.

It was Biles’ third gold medal in Rio, becoming the first U.S. female gymnast to win three golds in one Olympics and the first American woman to win the vault at the Games.

The margin of victory was enormous; her two vaults averaged 15.966, beating silver medalist Maria Paseka of Russia, 15.253, and bronze medalist Giulia Steingruber of Switzerland, 15.216.

Before Sunday, the vault has been the only individual apparatus title to elude Biles at the world level. Her first vault, an Amanar — a round-off onto the springboard, a back handspring onto the horse, and a flip with 2½ twists — earned a 15.900, and she hit even bigger, getting 16.033, on her second vault.

“I had been working on it [the Cheng], on and off, for a year,” Biles said. “It was never quite ready to do because I would get lost in the air. At worlds, we didn’t want do it … it just wasn’t right. I wasn’t feeling it.

“After worlds, that’s all I put my focus into it.”

Aimee Boorman, Biles’ longtime coach, said: “Ironically, when she first entered the elite world, we thought maybe you’ll make the world team and be a vault specialist.”

Years later, the would-be specialist has become a special gymnast of a generation.

The implications have started to sink in for Biles here. She has two events remaining and could leave with five gold medals.

“Sometimes if I’m lying in bed ... I’m impressed with myself,” she said. “I woke up the other morning and she (teammate Laurie Hernandez) was like, ‘Hey Simone you did it.’ I was like, ‘Oh I guess I did it.’”

Said Boorman: “I don’t think she understands the explosion. All the girls on the team, we’re in this bubble right now, this Olympic bubble. ‘This is fun. We’re winning medals.’ When we get home they have no idea what’s to come — it’s going to be interesting.”

The medal collection for the U.S. gymnastics team continued to accumulate Sunday. UCLA-bound Madison Kocian took the silver in the women’s uneven bars, following Alex Naddour’s bronze-medal effort on the men’s pommel horse.

Naddour’s performance ended a 32-year medal drought on the pommel horse for the United States. Max Whitlock and Louis Smith, both of Britain, went one-two.

It was the first medal for the U.S. in Rio. Jake Dalton and Sam Mikulak, of Newport Coast, finished sixth and eighth on the floor exercise. Mikulak’s missteps were cheered by Brazilian fans, who were eager for countrymen Diego Hypolito and Arthur Mariano to maintain their silver and bronze positions, which they did.

Mikulak, who had the best score in qualifying, said he was “pretty rattled,” and scored 14.833.

An emotional Naddour said he took inspiration from Biles’ winning performance. He thought of his wife and his infant daughter before his routine.

“I’m very, very happy right now,” said Naddour, who said later he felt like he had hit the lottery.

“At the Olympic Games, it doesn’t get much better than that,” he said. “This is the hardest and the most important and the best medal I’ve ever won in my life.”

The uneven bars is a specialty of Kocian’s. She finished in a four-way tie for first place at the World Championships last year in this event.

Kocian (15.833) managed to hold off Sophie Scheder of Germany (15.666), who took the bronze. Gabby Douglas of the U.S. placed seventh.

“When I was hurt, all the negative thoughts pop into your head,” said Kocian, who had an injured ankle earlier this year. “It’s very hard. I think it only helped me get to this point and pushed me even harder to even want it more and now finally my dreams are becoming a reality.”

lisa.dillman@latimes.com

Twitter: @reallisa