Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Simone Biles Finishes Her Return to the Olympics With a Silver
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 hours ago on
August 5, 2024

Simone Biles, of the United States, competes during the women's artistic gymnastics individual floor finals at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP/Abbie Parr)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

PARIS — American gymnast Simone Biles didn’t get the golden sendoff she sought.

Biles earned silver in the floor exercise finals on Monday — her fourth medal in Paris and 11th Olympic medal overall — after a routine that included a couple of costly steps out of bounds.

Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade became the first gymnast to beat Biles in a floor final in a major international competition, posting a score of 14.166 that finished just ahead of Biles at 14.133.

Jordan Chiles, a longtime friend and teammate of Biles, earned the bronze.

The 27-year-old Biles, considered the greatest in the history of the sport, wasn’t at her usual best during a routine set to music from pop icons Taylor Swift and Beyonce.

She’s going home with gold medals from the team, all-around and vault finals and a silver that came as a surprise in her signature event.

“I can’t be more proud of how I’ve done,” Biles said. “I’m 27 years old walking away from this Games with four medals to add to my collection. Not mad about it.”

Biles’ overall medal total (including seven gold, two silver, two bronze) ties Czechoslovakia’s Vera Caslavska for the second-most by a female gymnast in Olympic history. She missed a chance to add a fifth Paris medal earlier Monday when she fell during the beam final, finishing fifth.

Biles Overcomes Challenges to Deliver Impressive Performance

Though she can make it look easy at times, it is not. She thudded to the mat during her floor warm-up and had the balky left calf she tweaked in qualifying last week re-wrapped before she competed.

Her tumbling passes weren’t perfect — she stepped out of bounds twice — but her difficulty is usually so far above everyone else that it hardly matters.

Not this time. She received a 7.833 execution score that included 0.6 in deductions for stepping out of bounds, allowing Andrade to win her second Olympic gold.

Still, wearing a red-white-and-blue leotard featuring thousands of crystals, Biles ended nine days of competition in Paris by silencing the critics once and for all who have long derided her for pulling out of multiple events at the Tokyo Games three years ago.

“I’ve accomplished way (more than I thought I would),” she said. “A couple years ago, I didn’t think I’d be back here.”

Chiles Secures Bronze After Inquiry Boosts Score

Chiles — the last competitor of the day — initially received a 13.666 from judges. After some delay, her total was boosted by 0.1 when she filed an inquiry about the difficulty component of her score. That pushed Chiles past Romanians Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea and into third.

Biles said after winning the vault final on Saturday that she noticed her haters were “really quiet now, so that’s strange.”

As opposed to the constant roar of support that followed Biles wherever she went inside Bercy Arena, which has become a hub for celebrities from across the spectrum — including former NFL great Tom Brady on Monday — whenever she performs.

Biles Hints at Possible Return for 2028 Los Angeles Olympics

Floor exercise is Biles’ signature event, one that allows her to mix boundary-pushing tumbling passes that are the hardest ever done in her sport with charismatic choreography that work together to produce perhaps the most exciting 75 seconds in her sport.

The excitement, however, was tinged a bit by an uncharacteristic lapse in execution.

The routine ends with Biles blowing a kiss, a little wink that she has incorporated into her program in various forms for years.

Whether it served as a kiss goodbye remains anyone’s guess. Maybe even Biles’.

She has stayed relatively quiet on what lies ahead for her beyond the Paris Games, though she did nudge the door open a little for a possible return when the Olympics shift to Los Angeles in 2028.

“Never say never,” Biles said after claiming her second Olympic vault title earlier in the Games. “Next Olympics are at home. So you just never know. I am getting really old.”

She will be 31 then, an age when most gymnasts have long since retired. Yet Biles is redefining that adage in real time, and considering the gap that still exists between herself and nearly everyone else in the sport — save for Andrade, who pushed Biles as hard as she’s been pushed in nearly a decade — anything is possible.

Her floor silver came about an hour after a beam final in which half of the eight women in the field found themselves hopping off in the middle of their routine after losing their balance.

Biles Loses Balance

Biles included. She lost her balance at the end of her acro series and received a score of 13.100 to wind up fifth, tied with teammate Sunisa Lee.

Like Biles, Lee saw her hopes for gold end in the middle of her routine when she fell during the same part of her routine as Biles.

Afterward, the two Olympic champions and longtime friends who have a staggering 17 Olympic medals between them commiserated over the weird vibe inside an oddly silent arena that is usually throbbing with music at all times.

“It adds to the stress, just because it’s like you, yes, you’re the only one up there,” said Lee, who will take some time off before making any decision about her future. “So I was feeling the pressure.”

Alice D’Amato of Italy took the gold on beam with a score of 14.366. Zhou Yaqin of China earned silver with a 14.100, just ahead of bronze medalist Manila Esposito of Italy. Italy, which won silver behind the U.S. in the team competition, had never medaled on beam before.

The awards podium stand has long served as a second home for Biles during a career that includes 41 medals in major international competitions. A number that may never be broken and — who knows? — could possibly even be added to in Los Angeles.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

McClatchy Merges with Magazine Giant, Vows to Maintain Journalistic Standards

DON'T MISS

Blood Tests for Alzheimer’s May Be Coming to Your Doctor’s Office. Here’s What to Know

DON'T MISS

Justice Thomas Failed to Reveal More Private Flights, Senator Says

DON'T MISS

LGBTQ Library Material Came Under Fire in Fresno. Now California May Ban Book Bans.

DON'T MISS

Why Is Iran Expected to Attack Israel? What to Know About the Crisis.

DON'T MISS

A Sikh Lawmaker Wrote a Bill to Protect Immigrant Activists. Could a Fight Over Caste Derail It?

DON'T MISS

Freddie Freeman’s Son Returns Home After 8-Day ICU Stay

DON'T MISS

Michigan’s Moore Faces Allegations of NCAA Violations in Sign-Stealing Investigation

DON'T MISS

Authorities Search for Missing Yosemite Hikers Miguel Delgado and Ana Rodarte

DON'T MISS

Leigh Diffey on Botched Paris Olympics 100 Meters Call: “I Got It Wrong.”

UP NEXT

Blood Tests for Alzheimer’s May Be Coming to Your Doctor’s Office. Here’s What to Know

UP NEXT

Justice Thomas Failed to Reveal More Private Flights, Senator Says

UP NEXT

LGBTQ Library Material Came Under Fire in Fresno. Now California May Ban Book Bans.

UP NEXT

Why Is Iran Expected to Attack Israel? What to Know About the Crisis.

UP NEXT

A Sikh Lawmaker Wrote a Bill to Protect Immigrant Activists. Could a Fight Over Caste Derail It?

UP NEXT

Freddie Freeman’s Son Returns Home After 8-Day ICU Stay

UP NEXT

Michigan’s Moore Faces Allegations of NCAA Violations in Sign-Stealing Investigation

UP NEXT

Authorities Search for Missing Yosemite Hikers Miguel Delgado and Ana Rodarte

UP NEXT

Leigh Diffey on Botched Paris Olympics 100 Meters Call: “I Got It Wrong.”

UP NEXT

Harris Veepstakes: Shapiro, Kelly, Walz, or Someone Else?

LGBTQ Library Material Came Under Fire in Fresno. Now California May Ban Book Bans.

55 mins ago

Why Is Iran Expected to Attack Israel? What to Know About the Crisis.

59 mins ago

A Sikh Lawmaker Wrote a Bill to Protect Immigrant Activists. Could a Fight Over Caste Derail It?

1 hour ago

Freddie Freeman’s Son Returns Home After 8-Day ICU Stay

2 hours ago

Michigan’s Moore Faces Allegations of NCAA Violations in Sign-Stealing Investigation

2 hours ago

Authorities Search for Missing Yosemite Hikers Miguel Delgado and Ana Rodarte

2 hours ago

Leigh Diffey on Botched Paris Olympics 100 Meters Call: “I Got It Wrong.”

2 hours ago

Harris Veepstakes: Shapiro, Kelly, Walz, or Someone Else?

2 hours ago

Will We Have to Pump the Great Lakes to California to Feed the Nation?

2 hours ago

Americans Excel in Depth at the Pool, but Gold Medals Remain Elusive

2 hours ago

McClatchy Merges with Magazine Giant, Vows to Maintain Journalistic Standards

McClatchy, a major media company and parent of The Fresno Bee, and accelerate360, a magazine publisher and distribution business, have annou...

15 mins ago

15 mins ago

McClatchy Merges with Magazine Giant, Vows to Maintain Journalistic Standards

24 mins ago

Blood Tests for Alzheimer’s May Be Coming to Your Doctor’s Office. Here’s What to Know

53 mins ago

Justice Thomas Failed to Reveal More Private Flights, Senator Says

55 mins ago

LGBTQ Library Material Came Under Fire in Fresno. Now California May Ban Book Bans.

59 mins ago

Why Is Iran Expected to Attack Israel? What to Know About the Crisis.

1 hour ago

A Sikh Lawmaker Wrote a Bill to Protect Immigrant Activists. Could a Fight Over Caste Derail It?

2 hours ago

Freddie Freeman’s Son Returns Home After 8-Day ICU Stay

2 hours ago

Michigan’s Moore Faces Allegations of NCAA Violations in Sign-Stealing Investigation

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend