A mighty floor routine from Simone Biles featuring Taylor Swift and Beyonce powered the iconic American gymnast to gold in the all-around final.

The American gymnastics star edged Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade during a tense Olympic all-around final on Thursday, with Tokyo gold medallist Sunisa Lee third.

Biles’ total of 59.131 was just over a point ahead of Andrade at 57.932, one of the closest calls Biles has ever endured at a major international event.

The margin was the smallest in a major international event since Biles captured the third of her record six world championships in 2015.

She was a teenager then. She’s an icon now.

The 27-year-old who is redefining what a gymnast can do – and just as notably, for how long she can do it – is the third woman to become a two-time Olympic champion, joining Larisa Latynina and Vera Caslavska.

Biles also is the oldest woman to claim the biggest title in her sport since 30-year-old Maria Gorokhovskaya, of the Soviet Union, won the first-ever Olympic all-around in Melbourne in 1952.

Yet Biles’ sixth gold and ninth overall medal – the same as Romanian great Nadia Comaneci, who was among the star-studded crowd – did not come as easy as so many that came before.

She misjudged a transition on uneven bars, the weakest of her four events, letting go of the upper bar too soon and forcing her to reach for a larger-than-expect gap.

While she didn’t fall – Biles muscled her way back into the routine – it blunted her momentum and led to major deductions that left her trailing Andrade through two rotations.

The deficit didn’t last.

Biles responded with a largely wobble-free 14.566 on the balance beam, the best beam score of the night, while Andrade was forced to do a major balance check, dropping her to second.

On the floor – Biles’ signature event – the American performed a 75-second set including music from Taylor Swift and Beyonce, featuring the hardest tumbling ever done by a woman in the sport’s history.

When she was done – sealing gold that served as a redemption of sorts three years after pulling out of multiple finals in Tokyo to focus on her mental health – Biles sprinted to hug Lee just off the podium.

Lee earned bronze despite spending much of the last 15 months dealing with multiple kidney diseases that left her return to the Games very much in doubt.

BMX ace in box seat

Australia’s BMX racing superstar Saya Sakakibara has made an emphatic statement at the start of her redemption Olympics as she raced to three clinical victories to power into the semi-finals as top qualifier.

Saya Sakakibara (right) leads team mate Lauren Reynolds of Australia in action during the BMX Racing quarter-finals

The double overall World Cup champion is favourite to pick up her first Olympic title at the BMX Stadium in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines on Friday and she reckoned she was perfectly happy to have that burden after her consummate quarter-final wins.

Asked if her rivals will see her as the athlete to beat, Sakakibara said: “I hope so.

“I like the pressure, the attention. I like the the cameras on me, I like people cheering for me and I just I wish there were more people. It puts a really big smile on my face.”

The 24-year-old Gold Coast rider is out to banish wretched memories of her first Olympics in Tokyo when she suffered a horror crash in the semi-final that saw her taken away on a stretcher and left her with longer-term concussion problems.

Boxing biology war erupts

Imane Khelif’s next opponent has declared that if “she or he is a man” it would only prove a greater victory after a 46-second bout and conflicting gender eligibility rules rocked the Paris Games.

Algerian Khelif forced Angela Carini to sensationally abandon her Olympic  66kg boxing bout on Thursday in the first round, the Italian saying post-fight that she needed to “safeguard her life”.

Imane Khelif (L) of Algeria declared winner over Angela Carini of Italy.

Kheli and Taiwan’s Lin Yu‑ting of Taiwan were disqualified from last year’s International Boxing Association-run world championships after they failed gender eligibility test and were deemed to have a competitive advantage.

That test remains unspecified, but the IBA did clarify that neither underwent testosterone examinations.

The International Olympic Committee have taken over from the IBA as boxing’s sanctioning body – ironically due to integrity concerns – and, under different criteria, have allowed both to compete.

Australia’s Marissa Williamson’s comprehensive loss meant she avoided a next-up encounter with the Algerian, who will instead meet historic Hungarian Anna Luca Hamori in a Saturday quarter-final that’s captured the world’s attention.

“I’m not scared,” Hamori said ahead of their first meeting, before adding that she didn’t understand why Carini had thrown in the towel.

“I don’t care about the story … if she or he is a man it’ll be a bigger victory for me if I will win. So let’s do it.

“It’s going to be a great fight and I hope I will win. I can’t wait.”

As the sport fights for its Olympic future it has become a lightning rod for criticism, Williamson backing her Australia boxing captain, Caitlin Parker, who labelled it “dangerous”.

It was a view backed by the United Nations’ special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem, and evident in Thursday’s unusually early stoppage.

Carini’s headgear became dislodged twice after punches before she quit and she refused to shake Khelif’s hand after the decision was announced.

She cried in the ring before leaving.

“She felt pain in the nose and said to me, ‘I don’t want to fight more’,” her Italian coach Emanuele Renzini told reporters in broken English.

“People say, ‘Don’t go, it’s dangerous, she’s a man’. Maybe it’s this (why she quit).

“It’s not my decision, It’s a difficult decision. I don’t want to be the CEO at the moment.”

Renzini and Italy’s boxing team leader Alberto Tappa were seen in discussion with IOC officials in the hours after Carini’s fight.

“We hope for the future that it will be more clear, for all the teams,” Tappa said of a conversation that stretched beyond the eligibility rules.

“We are not lucky (to draw Khelif), in the first bout, (but) you have to fight.

“The pressure … a lot of people from Italy said not to fight, to protest.”

Opals comeback

Cayla George’s bench cameo has woken the Opals from their Olympic slumber, Australia handling Canada 70-65 to avoid a catastrophic early Games exit.

Australia rid themselves of the bad habits that had cost them in a loss to Nigeria that five-time Olympic veteran Lauren Jackson labelled a disaster.

They were tidier on both ends as they took control of a tight contest in the second half.

Three-time Olympian George (11 points, three-of-four three point attempts) was dynamic on Thursday in Lille, hitting a three-pointer with her first touch then earning an offensive foul on the next play to swing momentum her team’s way.

Another three-pointer and a crucial deflection that led to a turnover all-but iced the contest before she fouled out in the final seconds.

“It was closer to Opals basketball than the other day, that’s for sure,” George said.

Guard Sami Whitcomb (19 points, 10 assists, five rebounds) played the steadying hand as the world No.3 side looked a different squad to the one upset by Nigeria in a disastrous Games opener.

The loss left Canada 0-2, the Opals now able to top the pool, or at least guarantee a quarter-final berth in Paris with second place, if they beat France in their final pool game on Sunday.

Creditable K1 7th for Anderson

Paddling in the shadows of golden girl Jessica Fox, Melbourne’s Tim Anderson finished in seventh place in the Paris men’s K1.

With his teammate Fox winning two gold medals from two events in Paris, Anderson was looking to capture his own slice of the spotlight.

Making his Olympic debut, the 30-year-old improved on his semi-final showing early on Thursday, moving three spots up the rankings in a hectic final.

Giovanni De Gennaro became the toast of Italy when the veteran pulled out a flawless run with hometown hero Titouan Castryck falling 0.20 seconds short to the anguish of the full house at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.

France were bidding for a second gold after Nicolas Gestin’s triumph in the C1.

Spain’s Pau Echaniz won the kayak bronze medal with early favourite, Brit Joseph Clarke, dropping to fifth.

Anderson said while a podium spot was his goal, he was happy with his consistency.

Sad Matildas goodbye

The shattered Matildas have offered departing boss Tony Gustavsson a vote of thanks and support, defending him in the face of fierce criticism after their tame elimination from the Olympics.

The dispirited squad rolled into the Gare de Lyon station in Paris on Thursday after a train journey from the south of France following their previous night’s 2-1 defeat by USA that ended their worst Olympics since 2000 and prompted coach Gustavsson’s inevitable exit.

Assistant coach Mel Andreatta and veteran midfielder Tameka Yallop were quick to pay tribute to Gustavsson, whose tenure had officially ended a few hours earlier after Football Australia announced a mutual decision to part ways.

With the 50-year-old Swede having to shoulder the brunt of the blame for the group-stage flop in which the Matildas were outclassed by both Germany and the USA, Yallop wanted to offer a reminder of what he had achieved in his four years in charge.

“He’s had an amazing four-year cycle with us,” Yallop told reporters at the train station. “He’s done a lot on and off the field, and we have a lot to thank him for.”

Reflecting on their run to last year’s home World Cup semi-final, she added: “He really did bring a lot of passion with him from Sweden, and we definitely took advantage of that.

“We’ve had some amazing finishes at tournaments that we’ve we hadn’t before. We’ve made history with him. So I know all the girls and the staff are grateful to have had him for the four years.”

Asked about the flak that Gustavsson was now receiving, Andreatta added: “Everyone who pulls on this jersey, green and gold, gives their best and Tony gave his best and that’s all we can ask for. I hope people acknowledge that commitment, that effort to do his best – and that’s what he did.

Asked why she felt it had been such a disappointing campaign, Yallop said: “I think it just comes down to the fact there’s no token teams at the Olympics. Everyone’s got a tough group.

Second shock water polo triumph

Australia’s water polo men are turning from long-shots into genuine contenders for an Olympic medal after earning their second-straight shock triumph at the Paris Aquatics Centre.

Hot on the heels of their victory over two-time defending champions Serbia last time out, the Sharks silenced a noisy home crowd on Thursday by edging the hosts 9-8 in a thrilling triumph.

The French are the world’s No.4 side, but the Australians, seven places behind them,  found strength from feeling somewhat friendless amid a frenzied atmosphere.

The Sharks were in the driving seat for most of the match before prevailing with an outstanding hat-trick from Milos Maksimovic and goals from Angus Lambie, Matt Byrnes, Blake Edwards, Jacob Mercep, Luke Pavillard and Poot.

Still, though, for the second game running, it was the heroics of goalkeeper Nic Porter that really won the day for Tim Hamill’s ever improving side, who have moved to second in their group with the top four sides all due to qualify for the quarter-finals.

—AAP