Simone Biles, Sunisa Lee Both Fall Off Beam in Nervy Olympic Final

A tiny error cost Simone Biles what could have been an eighth Olympic gold medal on Monday as America’s greatest gymnast followed teammate Sunisa Lee in falling off the beam at the Paris Games. In a nervy final at the Bercy Arena, five of eight finalists fell—paving the way for Italy’s Alice D’Amato to capture an unexpected gold medal ahead of Zhou Yaqin of China and another Italian, Manila Esposito. Lee, competing in the first group of four, lost her footing at the end of her aerial series—a double stepout layout—and took a hard fall on the mat. Biles, competing second-last, looked typically imperious and wowed the crowd with a triple squat spin. But she too lost her footing after her aerial sequence, slipping off the narrow beam for what was thought to be the first time at a major final. Her score of 13.100 matched Lee’s, but left both out of medal contention.

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