Simone Biles & Suni Lee's Shocking Falls
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Published 2024-08-06
Both Biles and Lee did not medal in the event, which marked Lee's last performance in Paris. Biles will still have one chance at an Olympic medal
A disastrous beam final in women's gymnastics saw uncharacteristic falls from Simone Biles and Suni Lee, among others, leading to a shocking and historic podium Monday.
Both Biles and Lee did not medal in the event, which marked Lee's last performance in Paris. Biles will still have one chance at an Olympic medal in the 2024 Olympics.
The two Americans were among several athletes to fall Monday, with even announcers questioning what happened as a series of errors made for surprising scores for some of the most prominent names in the final event.
Alice D'Amato of Italy took the gold with a score of 14.366, Italy's first gold medal in the gymnastics event. Zhou Yaqin of China earned silver with a 14.100, just ahead of bronze medalist Manila Esposito of Italy.
It was the first podium finish without an American in women's gymnastics so far in Paris.
Biles finished with the same score as Lee, whose hopes for a gold on beam she's long coveted ended in the middle of her routine when she fell during the end of her acro series, just like Biles did a few minutes later.
"It was too quiet. I could literally hear myself breathing," Lee told reporters after the event, noting that while she is "so sad" she still "gave it her all."
Minutes after Lee, Biles was more than halfway through her set when she lost her balance and hopped off the beam onto the mat while thousands inside a packed Bercy Arena let out an audible “ohhh.”
Biles received a score of 13.100
There is still plenty of history on the line for Biles in what could be the last competition of her career. Biles has 10 medals in her Olympic career, including seven golds. A medal in the floor final would tie her with Czechoslovakia's Vera Caslavska for the second-most medals by a female gymnast in Olympic history, trailing only former Soviet Union great Larisa Latynina's 18.