Simone Biles's gold medal hopes dashed after rare mistake during Balance Beam event

Simone Biles' aspirations for a fourth Olympic gold medal at the Paris Games were temporarily halted after the US superstar took a tumble in the Balance Beam event. The 27-year-old claimed victories in the Team event, All-Around, and the Vault last week, adding three golds to her already impressive four heading into Paris.

Nerves were palpable inside the Porte de la Chapelle Arena with the first five on the beam suffering falls, including US teammate Sunisa Lee, who hit the floor hard and only managed a 13.100. Biles went second last, ahead of her main rival, Brazilian Rebeca Andrade, and wasn't able to stay on the beam during a series of backward summersaults , earning a score of 13.100, identical to that of her teammate, placing fifth.

Andrade didn't manage to take gold with a routine that only managed fourth, as Italy got two on the podium, with Alice D'Amato taking gold, Zhou Yaqin of China in second, and 17-year-old Manila Esposito for Bronze.

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Biles' hopes of another gold medal rest on the Floor later on Monday as she searches for a fourth gold medal at the 2024 Olympics. She's never lost a major international competition in Floor and took gold in Rio de Janeiro eight years ago.

Biles was quick to exit the arena to begin preparations for her final event of Paris. The American was visibly unhappy with something after her routine, believed to be the atmosphere. Biles, who staged an epic comeback with four wins out of five events after her Tokyo Games exit three years ago, wasn't sure she'd return to the gymnastics world.

Now, there will be immense pressure for Biles to keep competing, especially looking forward to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles . However, Biles will be into her thirties by then, and doubts remain if she'll carry on at an Olympic level post-Paris.

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Reflecting on her journey, Biles shared with the media, "Three years ago, I never thought I'd step foot on the gymnastics floor again just because of everything that had happened," after clinching the individual all-around medal last week.

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She continued highlighting her resilience, "But with the help of [my coach] Cecile [Landi], I got back in the gym and worked really hard mentally and physically. Even this morning at 7:00 a.m., I saw my therapist. And there's a time change, so she is so amazing for allowing me to do that these couple of days here in Paris."

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