Already a three-time gold medalist in these 2024 Olympics, Simone Biles was aiming for two new titles on Monday, August 5, on the beam and then on the floor. But the American fell on the apparatus, then was narrowly dominated by the Brazilian Rebeca Andrade on the floor. The gold medal record eludes her.
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From our special correspondent at the Arena Bercy,
It was a potentially historic day for Simone Biles. This August 5, the final day of the artistic gymnastics events at JO 2024the champion from Ohio had the opportunity to write a new page in the Olympics.
Gymnast Larissa Latynina, who competed for the Soviet Union between 1956 and 1964, is one of the two most decorated women in Olympic history with nine gold medals. She was joined on August 3 by American swimmer Katie Ledecky, also with nine gold medals. Simone Biles, who had seven gold medals around her neck at daybreak, as well as a silver and two bronze, could join them by winning the balance beam and then the floor exercise.
Failed on the beam…
In a packed Arena Bercy, the gymnast could count on many admirers. Team USA supporters always come out for her, and they weren’t the only ones there to cheer on the gymnastics superstar. As she entered the arena, a deluge of applause came down from the stands to welcome her. When it comes to popularity, Simone Biles remains uncontested.
On the beam, it’s a different story. This is the apparatus where the American is the least comfortable. Scheduled second to last in the order of passage, Simone Biles started her performance well. But after two spectacular figures, she lost her balance and fell off the beam, destroying her hopes. For the first time in her career at the Games, Biles finished off the podium*.
…and defeated by a hair on the ground
A little over an hour after this setback, Simone Biles returned early in the afternoon for the floor competition, where she has shone for years. The American still had to face very tough competition, including that of Rebeca Andrade, who has already beaten her in previous confrontations. The Brazilian, also very supported in the stands, went first and delivered a real recital, forcing Biles to respond.
And with her singular power and her talent that needs no introduction, the 1.42m American gave it her all. At such a level, a medal is decided by details. The judges had the difficult task of deciding between Andrade and Biles. And they spotted a very slight fault in the American’s competition. In terms of numbers, it’s tiny, but it’s enough to crown Rebeca Andrade, in gold with a score of 14.166, while Simone Biles is in silver with a score of… 14.133.
This last day will therefore not have smiled on the gymnast, who won “only” a silver medal and remains stuck at 7 gold medals. It remains to be seen whether these were her last Olympic Games. At the next one, in Los Angeles in 2028, Simone Biles will be 31 years old. The person concerned has not yet said anything about her future. She has even been annoyed, in recent days, that this subject comes up so often in the debates. This is probably not the time for the one who, despite this somewhat disappointing August 5, managed a strong comeback at the Olympics, three years after the troubles that had spoiled her Tokyo adventure.
Read alsoOlympic Games Results
* At the 2021 Tokyo Games, she took silver in the team all-around, although she withdrew from some of the required routines; Simone Biles withdrew from the individual all-around, vault, uneven bars and floor.