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If possible, Simone Biles (along with teammate Jordan Chiles) became even more legendary during Monday's action in Paris despite not winning a gold medal. The U.S. also earned medals in track and field and 3x3 women's basketball, while another men's beach volleyball pair advanced to the Olympic tournament quarterfinals. Unfortunately on the women's side, Team USA suffered an upset loss.
Here are the top five stories of the day:
Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles medal in floor exercise final
Team USA took home two more medals in women's gymnastics on Monday in the individual floor exercise final. Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles both finished on the podium, but there were a few dramatic moments leading up to Biles unexpectedly finishing with silver and Chiles catapulting into bronze at the last moment.
Biles surprisingly got out-tumbled by Brazilian gymnastics legend Rebeca Andrade. Biles' routine was just as high-flying as usual, but stepping out of bounds with both feet on her final tumbling pass (as well as a few other little deductions) cost her. Andrade didn't step out of bounds once in her high-difficulty routine, and that ended up being the difference. Andrade took home gold with a 14.166, and Biles settled for silver with a 14.133.
As unexpected as Biles' finish was, the major drama didn't come from Andrade's gold or Biles' silver. It came from the bronze medal spot. Chiles, the final gymnast to perform, initially scored a 13.666, which put her in fourth place behind Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu's 13.700.
But Chiles' coaches submitted a scoring inquiry for one skill, the tour jete, immediately after her initial score was revealed. They felt she had executed the skill correctly and completely during her routine. After review, the judges improved her score by an entire tenth, giving her a 13.766 and a surprise bronze medal.
Team USA women’s 3x3 bounces back for bronze
While it was a rough start for Team USA’s women’s 3x3 team at the Paris Olympics (three straight losses to begin pool play), they were able to end their Games on a high note, winning a bronze medal with a 16-13 win over Canada on Monday.
Earlier in the day, the team, which consists of Dearica Hamby, Cierra Burdick, Rhyne Howard and Hailey Van Lith, lost its semifinal match against Spain in overtime, but they were able to bounce back for the bronze medal match just hours later.
"It was like a roller coaster of emotions," Burdick said after the game. "Obviously, you're really, really low after that Spain game, and it took a lot of mental toughness to just kind of have short-term memory, bounce back, and be able to grid out this win. So I'm grateful to be going home with some hardware."
USA's Kristen Nuss, Taryn Kloth miss beach volleyball women's quarterfinals; Miles Partain, Andy Benesh advance
Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth won’t join Sara Hughes and Kelly Cheng in the women’s beach volleyball quarterfinals.
The U.S. pair lost in straight sets to Canada's Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson in straight sets, 21–19, 21–18. Nuss and Kloth, who were No. 2 in the world rankings, rallied from down 10–5 in the second set, but ultimately couldn't overcome Canada's strong defense in a major upset.
The U.S. men will also have a pair in the men’s quarterfinals. Miles Partain and Andrew Benesh are on to the knockout round after defeating Italy’s Samuele Cottafava and Paolo Nicolai in straight sets, 21–17, 21–18. They controlled both sets from the start, building five-point leads from which Italy couldn’t recover.
Partain and Benesh advance to the quarterfinals after USA teammates Chase Budinger and Miles Evans lost to Norway’s Anders Mol and Christian Sorum in the round of 16. The two have won two consecutive matches since parting ways with coach Mike Placek during the Olympic tournament.
Valerie Allman wins gold for USA in discus
The United States continues adding to its medal count in track and field. Valerie Allman won gold in discus for the second consecutive Summer Games, dominating the field with her throws. She did not get a throw past 70 meters, despite holding the American record at 71.46m.
However, she had plenty to defeat the competition. Her winning throw of 69.50 meters was nearly two meters longer than the second-place effort from China’s Bin Feng. But her second throw of 68.74 meters would have been enough to win.
Allman grew up wanting to be a dancer, excelling in ballet, tap, jazz and hip-hop. Yet she was convinced to give discus a try in high school and embraced throwing over all the other track events she attempted. That decision paid off wonderfully.
With her first-place finish in Paris, Allman became the fourth woman to win two Olympic gold medals in discus, adding to the gold she won at the Tokyo Games.
Sam Kendricks rebounds from Tokyo disappointment
U.S. pole vaulter Sam Kendricks won a silver medal on Monday, finishing an arc that began with disappointment and ended in triumph.
Kendricks was prevented from competing in the Tokyo Games after testing positive for COVID. He maintains that the test was a false positive because he showed no symptoms. Yet he was forced to go into quarantine rather than go to Tokyo.
The experience embittered Hendricks to the point that he initially felt that he didn't want to compete in Paris even if he qualified. However, he changed that stance after his performance at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Hendricks cleared the first three heights without missing on Monday night and eventually cleared 5.95 to earn a spot on the medal podium. He couldn't catch Sweden's Armand Duplantis for gold, who cleared 6.0. But it was enough to finish second and earn some redemption after 2021's heartbreak.
Team USA medals
Highlight of the day
If Simone Biles was disappointed by a silver medal finish to Brazil's Rebeca Andrade, she and USA teammate Jordan Chiles certainly didn't show it. Instead, the two celebrated their fellow competitor and rival on the medal stand.
Chiles and Biles bowed to Andrade, acknowledging her achievement and continued greatness in their sport. It was a wonderful show of sportsmanship and respect.
"Rebeca is so amazing,” Biles said. “She’s queen. …It was just the right thing to do."
One more thing...
How iconic has Turkish pistol shooter Yusuf Dikeç become? The silver medalist in the 10m air pistol mixed team competition emerged as an internet sensation not only for his glasses, but for a shooting pose with his left hand in his pocket that appeared to be the portrait of cool.
Dikeç looked so cool that Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis emulated his pose after one of his jumps on his way to winning a gold medal on Monday.
Unwittingly, Dikeç may have become the new Usain Bolt, whose bow and arrow pose became iconic after his gold medal victories in Beijing, London and Rio.
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