It does Simone Biles an injustice to speak of her as just an athlete, even one in the very upper echelons of greatness.

To treat her as simply a fantastic gymnast, surely the best there has ever been, somehow misses the mark. No judge's score can define her, no amount of gold medals feels adequate in contextualising her.

At this point, Biles is a cultural icon. She is a trailblazer and a phenomenon. She is a force of nature both at home in her native United States and all across the world.

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The proof was everywhere you looked in Paris for hours before her all around final even begun. 

Outside the venue they queued for miles. The heat was obnoxious, just the most sapping kind of late afternoon humidity, but nobody seemed to care.

There were ping pong tables and basketball hoops set up in the forecourt, and the waiting crowd danced and chanted in their endless lines.

On the outskirts of that joy was the anguish of those trying desperately to get in. Homemade cardboard signs and ashen faces begged for last gasp tickets, but the men lurking to offer them up were probably best not trusted.

It genuinely felt like the hours before a Taylor Swift concert. The crowd heavily swayed towards women and young girls, making for an infectiously upbeat atmosphere.

People dressed up, they made banners, and though they weren't sighted we can't rule out the possibility that friendship bracelets were involved too.

It was unlike anything you could find elsewhere at these Games. The swimming nights have erupted with furious energy, especially when Léon Marchand has been in action, and there was an incredible ferocity to the men's rugby sevens finals when France faced foe Argentina.

But this didn't feel like the build up to competition. These were people lining up to be inspired, to be amazed. To catch a glimpse of Biles, a truly remarkable young woman, and to be able to talk about it for the rest of their lives.

If Tokyo was meant to be Simone's Games, she's more than making up for lost time here in Paris.

Biles stole the show as part of the victorious US team a few nights ago, remained a key part of the narrative all week as she bit back against a former teammate turned (very mild) critic, and now had an evening all to herself in the all around final.

She took an early lead on the vault, unleashing her already iconic Biles II Yurchenko double pike. If you were wondering, the move is named after her because she is literally the only person in history who has been able to pull it off in competition.

Biles slipped to third after the uneven bars, but that was a short-lived demotion. She took a narrow lead out of the balance beam, and set up a showdown with Brazil's Rebeca Andrade and her compatriot Sunisa Lee.

Perhaps the word showdown is misplaced there. Procession might be more accurate.

Every one of the 24 athletes who competed in this final are astonishing athletes. In their floor routines, Andrade and Lee separated themselves again from that pack with medal-worthy performances.

Simone Biles was very clearly on another level. She levitated, right up until the point when she actually flew.

She performed two more moves named after her — she has five all up, five buttons she can push to detonate her competition at any time — and came down from each one smiling.

It was over before she hit the ground. It was probably over before she even took off.

Having completed her winning routine, Biles casually strolled to an adjacent platform and let the cameras come to her. In a stadium littered with celebrities, actual royalty, models, footballers and NBA players, none of them could dream of being as cool as she was at that moment.

With her GOAT necklace worn proudly and appropriately she celebrated alongside Lee with an American flag. Andrade delighted in her silver, the best possible result any of them realistically had on the night.

The celebrities left before the medals were awarded, but not a single fan. The same people who had sacrificed untold amounts of sweat in that queue five hours earlier weren't about to leave without one more taste of Simone.

Biles accepted her gold medal with a smile and a laugh and seemed content, that piercing, steely glare in her eyes softened ever so slightly at last.

And then it was over. Her concert had opened with the hits, kept the crowd on the hook and then blew the roof off with the encore.

She didn't really need this gold medal, not like some athletes do anyway. Her legacy is already well and truly secured, and the greatest gifts she will give to the world in future will likely come well away from arenas like this.

But having endured what she did in Tokyo this is admittedly far more satisfying an ending. Simone Biles the gymnast deserves this, for she truly is unlike anything this sport has seen before.

If Thursday night in Paris taught us anything though it's that Biles is so much more than an athlete.

Biles is a rock star, an artist, a force for good. An inspiration for young people, especially girls, that barriers can be broken and tough times make champions.

Simone Biles can fly. She's only just beginning her ascent.