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PARIS — On what was supposed to be (likely) her Olympic finale, Simone Biles finally showed her age. At least a little.
The 27-year-old, the oldest American female gymnast to compete at the Olympics since the 1950s, fell off the beam in that event final and then couldn’t overcome what appeared to be tightness in her back and soreness in her left calf in the floor final.
She still won silver in the floor, a tremendous result for anyone, but a significant upset in an event that she has dominated for years.
Even with a massive, full-point degree of difficulty advantage, Biles couldn’t overcome stepping out of bounds twice. Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade won gold with a score of 14.166. Biles finished with a 14.133, dragged down by 0.600 in penalties and an uncharacteristic 7.833 in execution.
American teammate Jordan Chiles won bronze with a score of 13.766. Chiles was initially credited with a score of 13.66, but upon appeal it was raised, moving her onto the podium.
Biles didn’t appear bothered with the silver. She celebrated her friend Andrade and hugged her friend and teammate Chiles. The event was about great competition not necessarily the order of finish. It was sportsmanship at its finest.
In the warm-ups of the floor routine, Biles came up clutching her back after a tumbling run. Doctors looked at the back and rewrapped her left calf — treatment for left calf soreness that has plagued her throughout the Olympics.
In what is likely her final Olympic performance, the sell-out, again celebrity-rich crowd in Bercy Arena stood and rained thunderous applause and “U-S-A! U-S-A!” chants down on her, regardless of the medal position.
This wasn’t just a celebration, but an appreciation for how Biles had pushed the sport forward over the last decade plus.
This victory represented Biles’ 11th career Olympic medal. It tied her for second for the most medals with 1960s star Vera Caslavska of Czechoslovakia.
Larisa Latynina of the Soviet Union leads with 18 medals, including nine golds, across the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics. The sport is far more competitive, especially with individual event specialists, today.
Biles was already by far the most decorated American gymnast of all-time (Shannon Miller has 7 total medals).