Biles falters on beam... but floor silver shows her steel

She’s human after all. Simone Biles settled for fifth in the beam final in Paris, before returning to deliver a mesmeric floor routine to claim a silver medal in what could be her final ever appearance at the Olympics.

- JACK RATHBORN

A captivated audience locked in on Biles’ final two performances of these enthralling Games, with the American superstar initially tumbling off the perilous beam to miss out on a medal. But the gutsy Biles would return, with her trademark tumbling enough for an 11th Olympic medal behind only Brazil’s brilliant Rebeca Andrade in the floor final.

The American superstar had earlier turned away with a grimace after learning her beam score, 13.100, which included a 0.3 penalty. And it proved to be a challenging afternoon following redemption and a third Olympic gold after her statement performance in the vault on Saturday. But the beam provided a telling reminder that gymnastics is a sport of fine margins as Alice D’Amato claimed a famous gold for Italy.

Yesterday was one last chance to witness history at the Bercy Arena, which has been one of the hottest tickets in Paris. Snoop Dogg has danced to her rhythm at the Bercy Arena and Team USA’s basketball superstars, including Kevin Durant, are among the illustrious names queueing up to witness greatness.

Her final appearance and the sport’s final session in Paris brought an opportunity for a special exclamation mark to conclude one of the great sporting chapters and perhaps end a legendary career. And the beam initially delivered intense drama, leaving spectators gasping in horror at each mistake from the finalists.