St. Paul's Suni Lee, Simone Biles miss podium for balance beam at Paris Olympics
USAs Sunisa Lee falls from the beam during the womens balance beam final at the Bercy Arena on the tenth day of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in France. Picture date: Monday August 5, 2024. (Photo by Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images)
PARIS (FOX 9) - St. Paul native Suni Lee and teammate Simone Biles missed the balance beam podium as both gymnasts fell during their performance.
Balance beam final
The 21-year-old gymnast competed with teammate Biles in the balance beam event final on Monday morning. Lee was second in the lineup and ultimately fell during her routine, earning a score of 13.100 and ending in sixth place.
"I'm so sad about my beam routine, but it's okay because I gave it my all," Lee said after the competition.
However, Lee wasn’t the only gymnast to struggle on the apparatus, as almost every gymnast made some mistake. Julia Bra Soares of Brazil, Sabrina Maneca-Voinea of Romania, and Biles all fell off the beam.
After finishing the routine, Biles walked off visibly upset and ultimately earned a score of 13.100, ending in fifth place.
Paris 2024 Olympic Games - Day Ten USA's Simone Biles and Sunisa Lee following the women's balance beam final at the Bercy Arena on the tenth day of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in France. Picture date: Monday August 5, 2024. (Photo by Mike Egerton/P (Getty Images)
Italy dominated the balance beam final on Monday. Alice D'Amato took gold with a score of 14.366, and teammate Manila Esposito won bronze with 14.000. China's Yaqin Zhou won silver with 14.100.
Brazil's Rebecca Andrade was favored to medal in the event but just missed the podium in fourth place, earning a score of 13.933. However, she took home a gold medal in the floor event finals.
Biles also competed with teammate Jordan Chiles in the floor event finals on Monday. Biles earned silver with a score of 14.133, and Chiles won bronze with a score of 13.766.
Suni Lee at the Paris Olympics
The balance beam was the last individual event for Lee, ending her competition at the Paris Olympics. While she didn’t medal in the event final, she is leaving the Summer Games as a six-time Olympic medalist.
During the 2024 Paris Olympics, Lee won gold in the team finals, bronze in the all-around final, and bronze in the uneven bars. In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the St. Paul native won gold in the all-around, earned silver in the team finals, and bronze in uneven bars.