FALL 2024 ISSUE - Flipbook - Page 50
Italy’s D’Amato wins Paris
balance beam gold, Biles fifth
after fall
Loic VENANCE / AFP
I
taly9s Alice D9Amato won balance beam gold as a fall
doomed US gymnastics great Simone Biles9s bid for
a record ove gold medals at the Paris Olympics on
Monday.
Biles, who led the US women to team gold before
claiming the all-around and vault titles, was among
several onalists to fall of the unforgiving apparatus.
Meanwhile, D9Amato, with a score of 14.366, celebrated a
orst ever women9s gymnastics gold for Italy, who also saw
Manila Esposito take bronze behind China9s Zhou Yuqin.
Just how treacherous the 10cm wide beam can be was clear
when the orst three starters made big mistakes. China9s
world silver medallist Zhou lost her balance and had to
touch the beam to avoid coming of.
American medal contender Sunisa Lee and Brazilian Julia
Soares both fell, Lee taking a hard fall onto the wooden beam
when her foot slipped at the end of what would have been
an impressive aerial series. Italy9s Esposito had a big wobble,
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and Romania9s Sabrina Maneca-Voinea fell twice. D9Amato
had a couple of minor wobbles in an otherwise impressive
routine to seize orst place just before Biles competed.
The US superstar, again greeted rapturously by Bercy Arena
fans, made a conodent start, but she somehow went of-line
on an aerial series and slipped of, drawing a collective gasp
from the crowd. Visibly disappointed, Biles had to wait an
agonizingly long time for her score of 13.100 to be posted.
That was nowhere good enough, Zhou earning silver with
14.100 and Esposito bagging bronze with 14.000.