Paris Olympics: Simone Biles trips on balance beam, misses medal

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PARIS — Simone Biles fell from the beam in a rare mishap here in Paris on Friday that derailed what had looked like a four-gold-medal-in-four-tries event.

Biles lost her balance and slid off the beam at the end of a combination. She ran a 13.100 and finished fifth. It cost her a chance to win an 11th Olympic medal.

The good news?

She has one more event to go: her beloved floor, where she is the big favorite later on Monday afternoon.

Italy’s Alice A’mato won gold with a score of 14.366. China’s Zhou Yaqin won silver (14.100) and Italy’s Manila Esposito (14.00) finished with bronze.

American Sunia Lee finished sixth with a score of 13.100 after slipping and falling during her routine. She finished her Paris Games with three medals — one gold and two bronze — and has won six medals in total at the last two Games. She is tied with Aly Raisman for third all-time among American female gymnasts in total medals.

Monday could be the final day of competition in Biles’ illustrious Olympic career. She’s a huge star here in Paris, and ticket sellers outside the Bercy Arena were asking for around 1,000 euros ($1,100 US) from desperate fans. Once again, the Simone Show drew a host of celebrities and dignitaries, including NFL legend Tom Brady.

The 27-year-old, in her third summer Games, warned to “never say never” about returning for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, despite the rarity of a gymnast competing into her 30s. Biles was already the oldest American female Olympic gymnast since the 1950s.

But as Biles proved again here in Paris: never write her off.

With 10 career Olympic medals, including seven gold, she is the most decorated American gymnast in history. (Shannon Miller has a total of seven medals.) She still has a chance to win an 11th career Olympic medal, which would tie her with 1960s star Vera Caslavska of Czechoslovakia for the second most female gymnasts of all time.

Although she will not equal the total of 18 medals won by Larisa Latynina of the Soviet Union, who competed at the 1965, 1960 and 1964 Games, the sport is much more competitive today, especially across disciplines, than it was then.