Simone Biles suffered a double heartbreak on the final day of her 2024 Paris Olympics after missing out on two gold medals in the Balance Beam and the Floor, while also losing a barely-believable Floor record.
Biles managed a score of 14.133 after stepping outside of the floor on two landings, leaving Brazilian rival Rebeca Andrade in gold .033 ahead. The 27-year-old attempted a difficulty was 6.9, her execution was 7.833, and she then had a 0.6 penalty.
Defeat to Andrade spelled the end of Biles' incredible Floor record, where she hadn't tasted defeat in a major international competition, including her gold medal win in Rio in 2016. The silver medal ends Biles' Paris Games, adding to the three gold medals she won in the Team, All-Around, and Vault competitions.
Biles started Monday with the chance of increasing her Olympic gold medals total to five. But a fall in the Balance Beam event saw her finish fifth, as Italian Alice D'Amato took gold. Team USA teammate Sunisa Lee also suffered a big fall off the beam in a disappointing end to her tournament.
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Andrade's gold medal is Brazil's first in the Floor discipline. Biles' Team USA teammate Jordan Chiles also went on through a rollercoaster of emotions as she ended the competition in fifth, only to be bumped up to bronze following a score review.
Veteran Biles showed her true colors, as she was the first to go and congratulate Chiles, who was in floods of tears following the late drama. Paris could very well be Biles' last Olympic Games, despite the USA hosting in 2028.
Should Biles retire, she'll walk away from Olympic competition with eight gold medals, two silvers, and two bronzes. A four-medal haul in Paris completed an epic comeback for Biles, who withdrew from the Tokyo Games three years ago.
Her withdrawal from Tokyo with the "twisties," a dangerous gymnastics condition involving a temporary loss of spatial awareness, saw Biles open up on her mental health. Biles revealed that she's in therapy weekly, and it helped inspire her gymnastics comeback.
"I started off with therapy this morning and I told her (the therapist) I was feeling calm and ready. And that’s exactly what happened," she said of her two-year break.
Biles is two gold medals behind the most successful female Olympians of all time. That could motivate Biles to continue in 2028. Biles will be 31 at the Los Angeles Games and she trails gymnast Larisa Latynina (9) and swimmer Katie Ledecky (9).
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