Simone Biles stared daggers at the big screen as she waited. Whatever the score was going to be, she would not be happy.
After falling off the beam during the event final Monday at Bercy Arena, Biles settled for fifth place on balance beam, ending her streak of consecutive Olympic medals in the event.
Biles was not alone in her struggles as four of the eight finalists fell on the apparatus, including teammate Suni Lee, who slipped off on a triple acrobatic series and finished with a 13.100, identical to Biles’ score.
Italy’s Alice D’Amato survived with the cleanest routine to claim the gold medal over China’s Zhou Yaqin and countrywoman Manila Esposito, who took silver and bronze, respectively. D’Amato scored 14.366 and broke into tears when the final score was announced.
Lee, who took bronze on the uneven bars Sunday, stated after the Olympic trials that she wanted a gold medal on beam, an event she consistently shines on with her elegance to only suffer a fluke mistake during the final.
Bad luck struck again for Lee as one of her feet slipped off the beam on the last skill of a triple acrobatic series and she crashed hard onto the mat. For the first time of these Olympics, Lee looked disappointed.
Her personal coach Jess Graba and U.S. head coach Cecile Landi both consoled the 21-year-old when she descended the stairs off the podium. Biles came over to offer a hug then left Lee smiling and laughing.