Simone Biles missed out on a gold medal for the second time on Monday after being edged into second in the floor exercise final at the Olympics.
Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade became the first gymnast to beat Biles in a floor final in a major international competition, posting a score of 14.166 that finished just ahead of the American at 14.133.
It was a couple of steps out of bounds which proved costly for Biles in terms of penalty points. Her compatriot and close friend Jordan Chiles took the bronze following an inquiry.
Earlier in the day, Biles slipped and fell off the apparatus at the end of her acrobatic series during the beam final, denying her an opportunity to add to the bronzes she won on the event at the 2016 and 2020 Games.
Italy’s Alice D’Amato took gold in that discipline, with Zhou Yaqin of China second and D’Amato’s compatriot Manila Esposito third by just 0.1 point.
Biles, considered the greatest in the history of the sport, was not at her usual best during a routine set to music from pop icons Taylor Swift and Beyonce.
Still, the 27-year-old boosted her medal haul in Paris to four in her signature event, adding to gold in the team, all-around and vault finals. That is just just one short of her five-medal haul in the Rio Olympics eight years ago.
Her routine received a 7.833 execution score which included 0.6 in deductions for stepping out of bounds, allowing Andrade to win her second Olympic gold.
Biles’ medal total of seven gold, two silver and two bronze ties Czechoslovakia’s Vera Caslavska for the second-most by a female gymnast in Olympic history.
Wearing a red-white-and-blue leotard featuring thousands of crystals, Biles ended nine days of competition in Paris by silencing the critics once and for all who have long derided her for pulling out of multiple events at the Tokyo Games three years ago.
Chiles takes bronze after inquiry drama
Chiles and Romania’s Ana Barbosu faced a nervous wait over the placing for the bronze medal following an inquiry being requested by the former.
The American was the last competitor of the day and initially received a score of 13.666 from the judges.
After some delay, her total was boosted by 0.1 when she filed an inquiry about her difficulty score, pushing Chiles past Romanian duo Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea and into third.
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