Paris (AP) — Simone Biles wrapped up her final day of the Paris Olympic s with more hardware for the greatest gymnast of her generation.
The woman who didn’t think she’d even be here a couple years ago will leave Paris — and perhaps her final Olympics — with three golds and a silver, earned Monday when she placed second in the floor exercise.
It marked the first time in her career that Biles did not win the floor exercise at a major competition. She finished second to Rebeca Andrade of Brazil. Third went to American gymnast Jordan Chiles, who was bumped to bronze when the U.S. coaches asked for a review of her degree of difficulty on the routine.
The review changed her score just enough to push her onto the podium, where the three Black women posed together four days after Biles, Andrade and Sunisa Lee, who is Hmong-American, stood in the same spot following the all-around. Their collective success is symbolic of a sport that is becoming more diverse and more inclusive at the highest level.
Prior to the floor exercise, Biles and Lee failed to medal on the balance beam. Both gymnasts made mistakes and wondered if Paris organizers’ decision not to play music during the events created a distracting eerie silence.
Biles is now an 11-time Olympic medalist and hasn’t ruled out trying to compete in Los Angeles in 2028.
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