Simone Biles lost twice in one day at the Olympics. What was it like from the inside?
Andrey Pankov August 5, 2024, 17:10 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
We follow the emotions of the American gymnast.
Simone Biles could repeat the eternal record of Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina and win nine gold medals at the Olympic Games today in Paris. To do so, she had to be the first to perform exercises on the balance beam and then on the floor.
Biles began these Olympics with a win in the team all-around:
There was no Russian looking for her! Biles brings Olympic gold back to Team USA in gymnastics
Of course, it was Biles who drew the lion’s share of the arena at Bercy. When the announcement was made and all the participants stepped onto the balance beam, the room erupted in applause. And Biles herself was quietly calm — or pretending to be calm. While all her competitors were warming up on the balance beam or stretching in their seats, Biles sat in a chair and yawned.
During the performance of the first four girls, she sat in a lotus position and barely moved. But at the same time, she actively followed the performances of other gymnasts and constantly shouted to them: “Come on, you got it.” She only got up from her seat once during the first half, to support her American teammate after a failed performance.
Simone Biles
Photo: Naomi Baker/Getty Images
When it was her turn to warm up on the beam, she stayed on it for 30 seconds, performed a jump and went off to laugh with her partner. And before the performance, Biles sat on the floor for a long time, as if, according to Russian tradition, she decided to sit on the floor, then exchanged final words with the coach and went off to perform.
The performance was unsuccessful, Biles fell off the log and the entire audience gasped. After which Simone waited three whole minutes for her evaluation. On this day, evaluations were never so delayed, neither before nor since. Irritation could be read on Biles’ face, but she carefully tried to hide it behind a mask of indifference. Under the gaze of a dozen cameras, which seemed about to get right in her face, she saw her score and fourth place, after which she sat in her seat without emotion, waited for the end of the competition, congratulated the Italian on the gold and went to the sub-tribune.
Details of Biles’ balance beam loss:
Biles was sensationally left without a medal. She will not be the best gymnast!
Two hours later it was time for the floor exercises. Simone approached her, apparently much more relaxed. She waited a long time for her performance, but she was not at all nervous. And then she went out and… lost. The judges deducted points from her for landing off the mat, so she lost 0.033 points to the Brazilian Andrade. Surprisingly, Simone greeted the results with a smile on her face and then was very happy for another American who won bronze. What was supposed to be a triumph for Biles turned into a Brazilian carnival.
