The podium saw Chinese gymnast Zhou Yaqin sneak in behind Italy's top placer Alice D'Amato and before her compatriot Manila Esposito. Biles had better odds on the Floor, yet a 0.6 point penalty landed her just .033 points away from Brazil's champ Rebeca Andrade.
The gymnastics community might have witnessed Simone Biles' last Olympic moment on Monday. As she will be 31 by the time the 2028 Los Angeles Games come around, her commitment to future competitions remains a mystery; she has not yet announced if she's retiring or continuing with competitive gymnastics.
Her impressive comeback stands in stark contrast to her withdrawal from Tokyo's games three years earlier owing to the "twisties," a condition causing disorientation that can be dangerous for gymnasts.
Following her brave exit from the Olympics in Tokyo to put her mental health first, Biles opened up about her two-year break from the sport: "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 shared.
At the Floor exercise, there was further cause for celebration when Jordan Chiles, a member of Biles' squad, was awarded bronze after a score review boosted her from fifth.
Andrade won Brazil's first-ever Olympic gold medal in the Floor exercise. Meanwhile, Biles shared her thoughts on the unusual atmosphere during her Balance Beam final.
She said: "Today you could hear the ringtones going off, the photo clickers, whatever that was and you're trying to stay in your zone and then the people start cheering and the shushing gets louder so they should be shushed because they're louder,
"I don't know, it was really weird and awkward and we'd asked if we've could have some music or some background noise, so I'm not really sure what happened there. It's not our favorite, none of us liked it. It was an odd beam final."
"Today has been absolutely wild," she added. "I've been competing here for a week or so now, so obviously exhaustion sets in now but we still had to go out and compete one more time today and it's such an honor to compete with these girls on the beam and floor.
"Obviously it wasn't my best performances but on the day, whoever medalled, medalled, and that's what is so exciting with gymnastics. I'm not upset about my performance or anything, I'm actually very happy, proud, and even more excited that it's over!
"I've accomplished way more than my wildest dreams, not just at this Olympics but in the sport I can't be mad at my performances. A couple of years ago I didn't think I'd be back at an Olympic games so competing and walking away with four medals, I'm not mad about it, I'm pretty proud of myself and it's always so exciting to compete."
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