Simone Biles wins silver on floor, Jordan Chiles bronze, gymnastics ends in Paris
PARIS — Gymnastics saved the drama for the final day. Simone Biles failed to win a gold medal, but her teammate Jordan Chiles earned a bronze medal after a jury examined her difficulty.
A fall on the beam dropped Biles out of medal contention altogether, and two step-outs on her floor exercise relegated Biles to silver behind Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade on floor. Biles had landed awkwardly during the floor warm-up when she performed her Biles II tumbling pass. Despite being assisted by team personnel, she appeared fine and nailed her first pass. But she went clearly out of bounds on her second. She made the same mistake on her final move, the deduction resulting in a 14.133, just behind Andrade’s 14.166.
But Chiles, who was thrown out of the all-around despite finishing fourth due to a two-limit-per-country rule, finally got her moment. She initially looked set to finish out of medal contention, but her coaches filed an investigation into her D score. After review, the judges bumped her score from 13.666 to 13.766, moving her into the bronze medal position.
An overwhelmed Chiles leaned over in disbelief as Biles, one of her best friends, walked up to her and took her into a tight hug.
It wasn’t a perfect finish for Biles or the U.S., but the Americans still took home eight medals in total, with four of the five women each winning at least one individual medal in addition to their team gold. Their performance serves as confirmation against critics — including a former teammate — who questioned the merits of this selection. Injuries at the trials opened the door for a vital rematch from Tokyo, reuniting Biles, Chiles, Sunisa Lee and Jade Carey. They all arrived in Paris with their own demons to conquer.
Lee was diagnosed with a debilitating kidney disease just 18 months ago; Chiles was trying to redeem himself after struggling to qualify in Tokyo; and Carey failed to reach the 2020 vault final.
Of course, no one carried a greater burden than Biles. Arguably the greatest female gymnast in history, she arrived in Paris still plagued by questions about her decision to withdraw from competition in Tokyo. She has been nothing but dominant since returning to competition, continuing to win every all-around she’s competed in and adding more difficulty to her already stacked routines. But until her vault in the team competition, some acted as if she had something to prove. “Yo, hallelujah!” Chiles said after watching Biles make the jump, acknowledging the elephant in the room.
The fairytale finish would have meant Biles would win gold in every event she qualified for, but the balance beam showed no mercy. Biles joined two other women — including Lee — who fell completely off the beam, along with three others who suffered major balance checks.
After falling on a flip layout, Biles stared intently at the scoreboard as Bercy Arena pumped out dramatic music to build unnecessary tension. Fans chanted “We love you Simone” as the wait seemed to drag on for what seemed like an eternity. Eventually, Biles’ score of 13.100 flashed, eliminating her from medal contention. Biles shrugged, her face grim with disappointment.
By the end of the day — and the end of her third Olympics — that grimace had been replaced by a grin. Biles accepted her mistakes on floor and went straight to Andrade to congratulate her.
Now comes the inevitable question: What now? She hasn’t shown Los Angeles the door in 2028, but she will be 31. When she won the all-around competition there, she became the oldest woman to do so since 1952, at 27. Equally important: Her coach, Cecile Landi, is leaving after the Olympics to become head coach at Georgia. Her husband and Biles’ co-coach, Laurent Landi, will remain at Biles’ Texas gym until 2025, while his daughter finishes high school but then also moves to Athens.
For now, the tea leaf reading will have to suffice. It doesn’t look like Biles will be interested in answering the questions anytime soon. On X on Sunday, she tweeted, “Y’all really need to stop asking athletes what’s next after they win a medal at the Olympics,” adding, “Let’s enjoy the moment we’ve worked our whole lives for.”
(Top photo of Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles celebrating their floor exercise medals on Monday: Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
