PARIS (AP) — Simone Biles didn’t win a medal on the balance beam this time.
American Gymnastics Stars Slip and fall At the end of the acrobatic series, he steps off the equipment. Paris Olympics She lost in the men’s balance beam final on Monday, missing out on a chance to add to the bronze medals she won in the event at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics.
Biles, clad in a blue-and-white leotard decorated with more than 5,000 crystals, lost her balance more than halfway through her routine, and the 27-year-old jumped from the balance beam to the mat, eliciting “oohs” from the thousands in the sold-out Belcy Arena crowd, including NFL great Tom Brady.
Biles earned a score of 13.100, tying her U.S. teammate. Sunisa Lee 4th.
Simone Biles of the United States pauses after a fall during the women’s gymnastics individual balance beam final at the Bercy Arena during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Secco)
Italy’s Alice D’Amato won the gold medal with 14.366 points. China’s Zhou Yaqin took silver with 14.100 points, just beating Italy’s Manila Esposito, who took bronze. Italy, which won silver behind the United States in the team event, had never medaled on the balance beam.
Biles finished in fifth place, tied with Lee, after Lee’s fall at the end of her acrobatic series ended her long-cherished hopes of winning gold on the balance beam midway through her performance, followed by Biles’ fall a few minutes later.
The 21-year-old Li will win three medals in Paris just months after being bedridden while battling chronic kidney disease.
While Li’s Olympics are over, Biles will compete later Monday in the floor exercise final, an event she has never lost at a major international competition, including winning gold eight years ago in Rio de Janeiro.
“We were both kind of frustrated because we know what we’re capable of,” Lee said, “but we didn’t get it done today, but she’s still got a good floor and she’s the GOAT, so I’m sure she’ll put on a great performance.”
This may be Biles’ final competition of her career, but there’s a lot of history at stake. Biles has won 10 Olympic medals, including seven gold medals. If she wins the floor exercise final, she’ll tie Czechoslovakia’s Vera Caslavska for the second-most medals by a female gymnast in Olympic history, trailing only Soviet great Larisa Latynina with 18.
Biles has remained relatively quiet about her future after Paris, but has hinted at the possibility of a return if the Olympics move to Los Angeles.
“You can’t say never,” said Biles, who won her second Olympic vault title on Saturday. “The next Olympics are in our country, so you never know what’s going to happen. I’m really old.”
