Today, she competed in the womens’ finals in balance beam.
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After descending from the competition podium, a disappointed Biles was so certain the score would not be enough for a top-three that she did not change into her medal ceremony outfit until the final score had been posted. She stuck her dismount, but looked disappointed when she walked off the gym floor. A strained ab muscle here made her ineligible to compete for a spot in the all-around final, but she proved herself in her lone event following the team gold. “Honestly, besides that error, the rest of the routine was really excellent”.
Fellow American Laurie Hernandez earned silver with a 15.333 score.
After Saraiva left the mat, she gave her competitors hugs and then went to wait for her score. She rolled her eyes while waiting for her score of 14.733.
Hernandez, 16, got her second medal after gold with the United States team, but tiny Brazilian star Flavia Saraiva, standing just 1.33 meters (4ft 4in), finished off the podium in fifth.
Simone Biles’s bid for a history-making fifth Olympic gold medal fell short as she had to settle for bronze in the individual balance beam competition. Au uncustomary stagger and major deduction there, though the routine’s difficulty quotient was so high that Biles still managed a medal-worthy mark at 14.733.
“It’s fantastic that she’s still going and she’s so strong at what she does, but I can’t even – no”.
Petrounias added the Olympic gold to the world the European titles he now holds with a score of 16.000. She didn’t make an event final either, and she anxious Karolyi wouldn’t have her back at national team camps.
Her “Drive for Five” had become a rallying point for those in and around the sport and a popular topic for the media covering the Games.
Simone Biles had one goal in mind coming into the Rio Olympics, to win gold for America. But the slip knocked Biles’ execution points to 8.233 -.7 below Hernandez. She stepped up to the beam and was ready to conquer it. She calls them mom and dad.
Earlier in the summer, Onyshko upgraded her beam routine with a few new moves that she hadn’t perfected by the start of July. “We try to say that she is a super human, but actually I think probably a little bit the pressure get to her or just mentally under the situation that you permanently have to focus and permanently have to be extremely sharp”.
“She should be proud of it”, said Boorman. Both of these athletes have worked extremely hard to get to this point and were able to show the world how incredible they are. Japan’s Kenzo Shirai bounced back from his disappointment in the floor exercise finale to finish third.
First individual medal for Hernandez- not the last?
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This was another day of huge accomplishments for Team USA.
