Simone Biles in ‘heartbreaking’ drama as medal stripped

Just hours after a shock fall in the balance beam final, Biles’ floor routine blew everyone away — except some early deductions for exceeding the boundary limits proved costly.

Biles’ perfect execution on her trademark triple twisting double back somersault wasn’t enough as Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade broke through to win the gold medal with a score of 14.166 - tipping Biles, who scored 14.133.

Chaos erupted when it came to deciding the bronze medal with two late score protests lodged after Jordan Chiles completed her routine - the final performance of the event.

First it was Romania’s Sabrina Maneca-Voinia (who finished fifth) that launched an unsuccessful protest into her score.

The second protest from the USA’s Chiles was successful and it boosted her from fifth to third.

The 23-year-old had looked emotionally frozen when her original score was handed down - shocked that her routine was only good enough for fifth.

When word came through that her protest had been successful she fell to pieces, bawling in tears as a delighted Biles wrapped up her teammate in a hug.

Unfortunately, those tears of happiness came at the price of absolute heartbreak for Romania’s Anu Barbosu, who was dropped out of third position.

Barbosu broke down in tears as the bronze medal was taken away from her.

She had earlier been seen waving her country’s flag around while celebrating. Cameras caught her leaping into the air in delirious fashion when Chiles’ initial score was announced.

She looked absolutely crushed when the final scores were made official.

To make matters even worse for Romania, Maneca-Voinia’s protest was unsuccessful, leaving the country in the fourth and fifth positions.

 

When looking at Barbosu Eurosport commentator Catherine Whittaker said: “Oh my the drama. You’ve got to feel for her. She’s not going to medal. That’s tough to see.

“Oh my goodness. Maneca-Voinia and Barbosu, it’s heartbreak for them.

“I’m gutted this competition is coming to an end, but my heart can’t take any more.”

Chiles took some time before she was finally able to compose herself before the medal ceremony.

“I have no words,” she said.

“Coming out with a medal... that was my goal, but that enquiry (on her difficulty score) went in, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I don’t know what will happen. Will I go up or down?’ So I’m very happy where I’m at right now. This medal means everything to me. This is beyond words. I’m so proud of myself.”

She said she was rattled while waiting for the review verdict to come back, saying, “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I got a medal’.”

Biles was still the headline act.

The American GOAT physically bowed to rival Rebeca Andrade on the podium after finishing up with the silver.

But the 27-year-old insisted she could not be disappointed by her medal haul in the French capital including three gold as US teammate Jordan Chiles snatched bronze.

“Rebeca’s so amazing, she’s queen,” said Biles.

“She’s such an excitement to watch and then all the fans in the crowd always cheering for her, so it was just the right thing to do.

“It was an all-black podium so that was super exciting for us but then Jordan was like should we bow to her and I was like absolutely.”

Biles’ crowd-pleasing acrobatic floor routine to Taylor Swift’s hit song “Ready For It” included two of the skills named after her.

But a 0.6-point deduction for twice stepping out of bounds proved costly as she scored 14.133, narrowly behind Andrade’s gold-winning score of 14.166.

The Brazilian, already a gold medallist in the vault at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games in 2021, won her fourth medal in Paris after all-around and vault silver and team bronze.

Despite finishing fourth in the balance beam earlier, Andrade picked herself up to “show people it’s possible”.

“It wasn’t about beating Simone but beating myself,” said the 25-year-old.

“It was very cute of them. They are the world’s best athletes and what they did means a lot to me, we’re always rooting for each other, the final is very difficult for everyone.”

Andrade said she was proud of the all-black gymnastics podium at Olympics after the world championships, to “show black power again, we can make it happen”.

“I love myself, I love my skin colour, but I’m not focused on that. Rebeca goes beyond her colour. The same goes for Simone and Jordan.”

Biles also finishes the Paris Games with four medals after winning golds in the team, all-around and vault.

Her Olympic total now stands at 11 — seven gold, two silver, and two bronze. Her well-publicised troubles with the debilitating mental block known as the “twisties” led to her withdrawal from multiple events in Tokyo three years ago.

— with AFP