Paris Olympics: Simone Biles wraps up triumphant Olympics return with another medal!

Paris, France - Simone Biles polished off a redemptive Paris Olympics campaign with a floor exercise silver on Monday, shrugging off a balance beam fall to finish runner-up to Brazilian Rebeca Andrade.

Simone Biles won the silver medal with her floor routine, capping off a spectacular return to the Olympics at the 2024 Paris Games.
Simone Biles won the silver medal with her floor routine, capping off a spectacular return to the Olympics at the 2024 Paris Games.  © REUTERS

Biles went into the final day of competition with a chance to push her tally of Paris gold to a record-setting five in one Games.

She had already led the US to team gold, bagged the all-around top spot, and also dominated the vault event.

The 27-year-old couldn't find her way back to the top of the podium on Monday, but Biles said she'd leave Paris proud of all four of the medals that took her career total to eleven.

"Today has been absolutely wild," Biles said, adding that she was "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," said Biles, who owns a jaw-dropping 41 world and Olympic medals – 30 of them gold.

"So I can't be mad at my performances," she added. "A couple of years ago I didn't think I'd be back here at an Olympic Games, so competing and then walking away with four medals. I'm pretty proud of myself."

Biles and Chiles make podium in dramatic floor final

Biles and her US teammate Jordan Chiles (r.) made the podium for a contest won by Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade.
Biles and her US teammate Jordan Chiles (r.) made the podium for a contest won by Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade.  © REUTERS

Two out-of-bounds errors proved costly in Biles's otherwise breathtaking final floor routine.

Andrade had already moved into first place with an energetic and elegant performance that garnered 14.166 points.

Biles earned 14.133 for silver, ahead of teammate Jordan Chiles, who took bronze with 13.766. Chiles's score was upgraded after a review of her degree of difficulty, a devastating blow for Romania's Ana Bărbosu, who thought she had bagged bronze with her score of 13.700.

Biles's legion of fans gave her a standing ovation anyway, and the American departed the floor mat with both arms raised in acknowledgement.

Her earlier fall from the beam – one of several in the final – was the first major hiccup of her triumphant Olympic return. Biles finished fifth in beam, where Alice D'Amato became the first Italian woman gymnast to claim Olympic gold with a score of 14.366.

Biles said the lack of music during the beam routines – which made random crowd noises such as phones and cameras more noticeable – made for a "really weird and awkward" atmosphere.

"None of us liked it," she said. "It was an odd beam final."

Cover photo: REUTERS

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