Monday 5th August
Women's Balance Beam Finals
The Balance Beam finals for women's gymnastics featured a series of challenging performances, with several gymnasts experiencing slips and falls. Many wondered whether it was the quietness that the athletes had to perform in. Suni Lee even mentioning to reporters, "I could literally hear myself breathing."
Highlights:
Alice D’Amato secured the gold with a score of 14.366. This victory marks a historic moment as Italy has never before won an Olympic medal in any individual gymnastics event. Now, D’Amato and her teammate, who won bronze, bring home two medals.
Zhou Yaqin from the People's Republic of China claimed the silver medal with a score of 14.100.
Manila Esposito of Italy took bronze with a score of 14.000.
Source: Europa Press via Getty Images
Recap:
Zhou Yaqin started strong, showcasing a fast and fluid routine with solid connections, including a front handspring front tuck series and a side somersault into a jump tuck. Despite a slight wobble where she placed her hands on the beam, she finished with a score of 14.100.
Sunisa Lee, in her final appearance at the Paris 2024 Olympics, began her routine well but experienced a slip off the beam, resulting in a score of 13.100. The disappointment was clear on her face.
Source: Jack Gruber/USA TODAY Sports
Julia Soares had a solid start but fell off during her tour jete half, finishing with a score of 12.333.
Manila Esposito performed a strong routine with minimal wobbles, finishing with a stuck double pike dismount and a score of 14.000, placing her second currently.
Sabrina Voinea starts her routine with a difficult connection and it’s here where she falls off the beam. This unsettles her, and she continues, but it’s not long before she falls off again. She finishes her routine with a score of 11.733.
Alice D’Amato executed a flawless routine with a switch leap to front aerial to straddle jump sequence, displaying excellent control and grace. She smiled widely upon receiving the top score of 14.366.
Source: Reuters
Simone Biles captivated the audience with her powerful routine. However, she fell during a back handspring layout sequence. Despite a nearly perfect dismount, her score was delayed, and she appeared frustrated as she waited. Her final score was 13.100.
Once her routine was completed, she saluted the judges briefly before returning to sit with her team mate, Suni Lee. The judges, apparently, found the salute insufficient and deducted three tenths from her score.
Source: AFP via Getty Images
Rebeca Andrade performed a beautifully choreographed routine with quick and difficult connections. The crowd erupted as she stuck her double pike dismount, and her score of 13.933 suggested a strong chance for a medal, though not enough for the podium.
Women’s Floor Routine:
Highlights:
Rebeca Andrade (BRA) wins gold with a score of 14.166, featuring an 8.266 execution and 5.900 difficulty.
Simone Biles (USA) scored 14.133 and claims silver with her big movements despite stepping out of the floor twice.
Jordan Chiles (USA) clinched the bronze after a successful inquiry, raising her score from 13.666 to 13.766.
Source: Europa Press/ Getty Images
Recap:
Manila Esposito (ITA): Fresh off her bronze win on the balance beam, Esposito started her floor routine but faced challenges. She fell to her knees during a big movement and later stepped out of bounds. She scored 12.133.
Rebeca Andrade (BRA): A fan favourite, Andrade's routine featured upbeat music and precise, fast movements. She executed her skills beautifully, sticking all her landings. Her final score was 14.166, with an 8.266 execution.
Source: REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli
Ou Yushan (CHN): Her performance was set to beautiful music, but she fell out of bounds on her second major movement. She continued with grace, finishing with a score of 13.000.
Kishi Rina (JPN): Rina had a challenging routine filled with difficult skills. Despite a minor step out of bounds, she executed well, earning a score of 13.166.
Ana Barbosu (ROM): Known for her artistic performance, Barbosu also had a foot out of bounds deduction. She scored 13.700.
Source: AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
Alice D'Amato (ITA): Following her recent beam win, D'Amato performed a fast-paced routine. Despite a foot out of bounds, she scored 13.600, with a difficulty of 5.699.
Simone Biles (USA): In her final performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Biles delivered strong connecting movements and big skills. However, she stepped out of bounds twice. Her score was 14.133.
Simone claps back that her salute from an hour and a half earlier was insufficient by walking off in her continued salute to the judges. Simone was deducted three tenths of a point in her beam routine due to this.
Sabrina Voinea (ROM): Voinea performed big movements and stuck her landings, showcasing a difficult routine filled with connecting elements. She concluded with a smile and scored 13.700.
Jordan Chiles (USA): Chiles finished the competition with fun choreography and a score of 13.666. However, Team USA submitted an inquiry to upgrade her difficulty level from C to D. The inquiry was successful, raising her score to 13.766 and securing her the bronze medal. Ana Barbosu, who had begun to celebrate her bronze medal, was then left sad and disappointed.
Source: AP /Charlie Riede
Ana looks visibly hurt after the inquiry for Chiles was successful.
And that's a wrap for artistic gymnastics at the 2024 Paris Olympics! As we bid farewell to all the incredible gymnasts who competed, they head off for a well-deserved rest. But don't worry, gymnastics fans—Rhythmic Gymnastics kicks off on the 8th of August, and we'll be keeping you updated on all the action!
