Olympics-Gymnastics-Italy's D'Amato claims balance beam gold, Biles finishes fifth
PARIS - Italian gymnast Alice D'Amato emerged as the surprise champion on the balance beam at the Paris Olympics on Monday after American favourite Simone Biles unexpectedly fell off the 10cm wide apparatus during the final to finish out of the medals.
D'Amato had ranked only seventh during the qualifying competition but after performing a routine devoid of any major errors on Monday, D'Amato emerged triumphant with a score of 14.366 points. She became the first Italian woman to win an Olympic gold in gymnastics.
The 21-year-old dropped to her knees and sobbed uncontrollably when she realised she had just clinched her first Olympic title.
Zhou Yaqin of China, the runner up to Biles on balance beam at last year's world championships, had been the top qualifier for the final after eclipsing her American rival by a razor thin margin eight days ago.
Zhou made a solid start her routine but she had to bend over and grab the beam with both hands during her jump sequence to prevent herself falling off. Despite the error, she captured silver with 14.100 points.
D'Amato's compatriot Manila Esposito finished third, 0.1 of a point behind her Chinese rival.
Biles, the most decorated gymnast of all-time, was one of four finalists to fall off the apparatus on Monday.
The 27-year-old was had been expected to perform a sequence featuring handspring layout-layout but and she aborted the series after the first layout and loud gasps could be heard around Bercy Arena as she lost her balance and slipped off.
She re-mounted the beam to finish off the routine but upon completing her dismount, she appeared to be annoyed by noise coming from the crowd.
Biles repeatedly asked her teammate and fellow finalist Sunisa Lee “Why are they shushing?”, suggesting she had been distracted by some sections of the crowd trying to silence those trying to cheer her on during the performance.
The American, a two-time Olympic bronze medallist and a four-time world champion on the balance beam, finished a disappointing fifth with 13.100.
Lee, the 2020 all around Olympic champion, crashed to the mat during her flight sequence and finished sixth.
"It was just crazy to kind of see how everybody was going down like that," Lee said. "But I think it's just because there's just so much pressure. You could feel the tension in the room."
Lee said the absence of music in the background during the final and the "shush" sounds made by fans had unnerved some gymnasts
"Me and Simone were like, 'why are they shushing? Like we're just trying to cheer," Lee said.
Biles claimed three gold medals at the Paris Olympics -- in the team event, the all-around and the vault. She also won a silver on the floor exercise.
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