Simone Biles claimed her 11th Olympic medal in what might be her final Olympic appearance on Friday, but a couple of errors on the floor cost her the chance to bow out with a gold.
The 27-year-old appeared headed for an eighth Olympic gold medal—and her fourth in Paris—as she landed a sky-high triple-twisting double back somersault to kick off her routine.
But she stepped out twice in subsequent landings, earning a 0.6-point deduction that left her in silver medal spot behind Brazilian Rebeca Andrade, who captured the gold.
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American Jordan Chiles performed what looked like a solid medal-worthy performance after nailing a technically demanding routine, only for judges to place her fourth with 13.66 points.
The Team USA coaches were clearly upset, and after a rarely seen score inquiry the judges upgraded Chiles’ score to 13.766 points, handing her the bronze medal ahead of Ana Bărbosu of Romania.
Andrade, 25, has been on Biles’ heels across the last 10 days of competition in Paris, finishing second all-around in what Biles said was one of the toughest contests of her career.
On Friday, Andrade finally got the upper hand, and Biles and Chiles showed respect and affection for the Brazilian by bowing to her as they stood side by side on the medal podium.
The question now is, what is next for Simone Biles? Widely recognized as the greatest gymnast of all time, will Biles call it a day after Paris? Or will she keep going until the 2020 Los Angeles Olympics?
These were the questions asked of Biles after she won her seventh Olympic gold medal in the vault final on Saturday—and she gave a tantalizing hint that she might carry on.
“Never say never,” Biles said. “Next Olympics are at home. So you just never know. I am getting really old.”
The next day, however, Biles made it clear that it was her decision to make on her own time, tweeting a rebuke against journalists for ruining her golden moment with questions about her future.
“You guys really gotta stop asking athletes what’s next after they win a medal at the Olympics,” Biles wrote on X. “Let us soak up the moment we’ve worked our whole lives for.”
