A slip on the balance beam and penalties on the floor cost Simone Biles another gold medal

Simone Biles slipped off the balance beam and incurred costly penalties on the floor as she failed to win a gold medal for the first time at these Summer Olympics in Paris – which have been serving as an emphatic comeback from disappointment three years ago in Tokyo.

A slip on the balance beam and penalties on the floor cost Simone Biles another gold medal

In the individual beam final, Biles lost her balance and fell off the apparatus, costing her a chance to make even more history here in France. Alice D’Amato of Italy took home the gold, Zhou Yaqin of China took silver and Italian Manila Esposito took the bronze.

Later in the floor final, Biles appeared to have put together another stunning performance on an apparatus on which she has excelled here in Paris. But two moments of landing out of bounds cost Biles six-tenths of a point, enough to bring her score down to 14.133 behind gold medalist Rebeca Andrade of Brazil, who scored a 14.166.

It’s a slightly disappointing end to an incredible Games for the American legend. Biles, already the most decorated gymnast of all time, put her name next to a few more records last week when she won the gold in the team event with Team USA, the individual all-around competition and the vault final.

With those wins, Biles became the most decorated American Olympic gymnast of all time – now with 11 total Olympic medals, including seven gold – and also became the oldest American gymnast to win a gold medal at 27.

While it wasn’t the result she wanted, Biles is not walking away from Paris disappointed.

“I accomplished way more than my wildest dreams – not just at this Olympics, but in this sport,” Biles told reporters afterward. “So I can’t be mad at my performances. A couple years ago, I didn’t think I’d be back here at an Olympic Games, so competing and then walking away with four medals, I’m not mad about it. I’m pretty proud of myself.”

She had a chance to tie another incredible mark if she had won both the beam and the floor exercises on Monday. The only two women to ever win nine Olympic gold medals are American swimmer Katie Ledecky and Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina. Biles will have to wait until Los Angeles in 2028 if she wants to try and reach that mark.