Simone Biles has spoken out after a mistake on the balance beam cost her an additional medal at the Olympics.
Biles has largely proven her talents once again at this year's Olympic Games in Paris, having racked up multiple gold medals in the vault, all-around and team gymnastics events.
The 27-year-old is already the most decorated gymnast of all-time, but she lost out on an additional medal after she fell off the slim bar during the balance beam final, causing her to finish in fifth place.
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BBC commentator Craig Heap noted Biles looked 'angry' during the event, and it was initially suggested that she may have been distracted by noises in the arena during her performance.
Cameras caught Biles apparently taking issue with the situation in the arena as she returned to her camp and appeared to tell them to ‘stop shushing’.
The gymnast has now spoken out about the event, describing it as an 'odd final'.
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She said: “The beam final is always the most stressful, usually we have music or background noise, whatever that may be, and honestly we do better in environments when there’s noise going on because it feels the most like practice."
Biles said the final at Paris 2024 was soundtracked by noises including 'ringtones going off' and the sound of cameras.
"The photo clickers, whatever that was," she said, adding: "You’re trying to stay in your zone and then the people start cheering and the shushing gets louder so they should be shushed because they’re louder."
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Biles continued: “I don’t know, it was really weird and awkward and we’d asked if we’ve could have some music or some background noise, so I’m not really sure what happened there. It’s not our favourite, none of us liked it.
“It was an odd beam final.”
Biles wasn't the only one to lose her balance on the beam; fellow Team USA gymnast Sunisa Lee also fell during her routine.
Overall, Biles ended the day with a silver medal on the floor, coming in behind Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade.
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She described the day as 'absolutely wild', admitting that while exhaustion had set in after a week of competing, it was an 'honor' for her to compete alongside the other gymnasts on the beam and the floor.
“Obviously it wasn’t my best performances but on the day, whoever medalled medalled and that’s what is so exciting with gymnastics," Biles said.
“I’m not upset about my performance or anything, I’m actually very happy, proud and even more excited that it’s over!
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“I’ve accomplished way more than my wildest dreams, not just at this Olympics but in the sport – I can’t be mad at my performances.
“A couple of years ago I didn’t think I’d be back at an Olympic games so competing and walking away with four medals, I’m not mad about it, I’m pretty proud of myself and it’s always so exciting to compete.”
Topics: Simone Biles, Olympics, Sport
Emily Brown