The Paris Olympics took an unexpected turn as Simone Biles, who seemed destined to clinch a fourth gold medal, took a tumble off the balance beam during her routine.
The 27-year-old gymnast had already dazzled audiences with gold medals in the team all-around, individual all-around, and vault events since the Olympic games kicked off in July.
Having won three gold medals in Paris thus far in the competition, she is already the most decorated American gymnast of all time.
Simone Biles lost her chance to add another Olympic gold medal to her collection after falling during the women’s balance beam event
Image credits: Rex Features
She was anticipated to add another gold to her collection with the women’s balance beam event on Monday, August 5. However, a rare slip cost her the chance to achieve a perfect four-gold-medals-in-four-attempts.
Fans held their breath in a dramatic moment as Simone lost her footing midway through her beam routine.
The gymnastic powerhouse did not make it to the podium as she came in fourth place during the event with a score of 13.100.
The 27-year-old gymnast had already dazzled audiences with gold medals in the team all-around, individual all-around, and vault events
Image credits: Rex Features
She narrowly missed out on her 11th Olympic medal as Italian gymnast Alice D’Amato seized the gold with a commanding performance, while China’s Yaqin Zhou and Italy’s Manila Esposito claimed the silver and bronze respectively.
Simone wasn’t the only gymnast to fall off the beam during the event. Her fellow American teammate Suni Lee also crashed off the beam and missed out on a medal.
Three of her other competitors also fell during the same event.
Some fans blamed the crowd’s deathly silence for Simone’s unexpected fall. The “shushing” may have affected her performance as she was seen repeatedly asking her coach, “Why are they shushing?”
Following the results, the decorated Olympian expressed visible frustration and quickly exited the arena. Few netizens claimed she didn’t display the right sportsmanship with her reaction.
Despite the setback, there is still a glimmer of hope for Simone to add more Olympic gold medals to her repertoire. She will be competing in one more event—floor exercise—on Monday.
Some fans criticized the gymnastic powerhouse for her reaction to the results while some blamed her unexpected fall on the crowd’s “shushing”
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