Simone Biles takes silver, Chiles bronze in women's gymnastics floor final
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Simone Biles after competing in the artistic gymnastics women's floor exercise final at the Olympics Games in Paris. Photo: Naomi Baker/Getty Images
Simone Biles captured the silver medal in the women's floor exercise on Monday, the final day of artistic gymnastics competition at Paris' Bercy Arena, with teammate Jordan Chiles grabbing the bronze.
Why it matters: Their floor medals marked the end of a strong, medal-laden performance for Team USA after major challenges in recent years.
- Biles narrowly lost to Brazil's Rebeca Andrade's 14.166, which earned her the gold medal.
Driving the news: Biles went out of bounds twice during her incredibly difficult routine, which contained two of her signature moves. Her 14.133 score put her in second after seven of nine gymnasts.
- Chiles, who performed last on the floor, posted an 13.766, finishing third.
- Chiles' initial score placed her fifth behind two Romanians. However after an inquiry regarding the difficulty of one of her moves, her score was raised by a tenth of a point, moving her into the bronze medal position.
What they're saying: In a press conference, Biles and Chiles both talked about having achieved what they set out to do individually and as a team, as well as the significance of having an all-Black podium in floor.
- "I accomplished way more than just my wildest dreams, not just at this Olympics but in my sport," Biles told reporters.
- As for getting her score raised and earning the bronze, Chiles said she didn't even initially realize her coaches had submitted an inquiry. ""I was just proud of myself to be in an event final," she said, adding "I was like, 'Oh my gosh, I got a medal'."
Between the lines: The medals on floor followed a rough outing early in the day on balance beam. Both Sunisa Lee and Biles fell, keeping them off the podium in that apparatus final.
- Biles slipped off the beam, but completed a number of difficult moves and stuck the landing. Her score of 13.100, though placed her fifth.
- Sunisa Lee, who helped power the U.S. to the team gold and took bronze in both the individual all-around and Sunday's uneven bars, also fell during her beam routine, finishing with the same 13.100 score as Biles.
The big picture: In addition to its gold medal in the team competition team, the U.S. has excelled in individual competition, with Biles capturing gold in all-around and vault and Jade Carey earning a bronze in vault, along with Lee's two individual bronze medals.
- The U.S. men have also had a strong showing in Paris, capturing the team bronze, with fan favorite Stephen Nedoroscik also earning bronze on the pommel horse.
