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It’s not just Simone Biles: A number of gymnasts and coaches are speaking out about the “strange and uncomfortable” atmosphere during the individual balance beam final at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Monday.
During the event, half of the finalists, four out of eight, fell from the beam: Biles and Sunisa Lee of Team USA, Julia Soares of Brazil and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea of Romania. In the end, Alice D’Amato of Italy won gold, Zhou Yaqin of China silver and Manila Esposito of Italy bronze.
Sunisa Lee of the United States falls on the beam during the women’s artistic gymnastics individual balance beam final at Bercy Arena during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, August 5, 2024 in Paris, France.
AP Photo/Morry Gash
Normally, the balance beam is considered one of the most difficult and mentally challenging gymnastics events. Gymnasts must perform a series of high-flying turns and jumps on a wooden beam just 10cm wide. But Monday’s Olympic final was far from ideal.
The crowd was eerily silent, and at times the cheering crowd, including athletes cheering on their teammates on the sidelines, became silent. In addition, no music was played during the individual finals. Before Monday, athletes were allowed to perform to music during the qualifications, team finals, and all-around finals for both the men and women.
“It was really weird and awkward,” said Biles, who finished fifth despite qualifying second. “We asked multiple times if we could have some music or some background noise. I don’t know exactly what happened, but yeah, not our favorite. None of us liked it.”
While it may seem counterintuitive, gymnasts often prefer noisy arenas, even on an apparatus as precarious as the beam, because it helps the athlete focus more on the task at hand. “Honestly, we do better in environments where there’s noise because it feels the most like practice,” Biles told reporters.
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After completing her beam routine, Biles looked stunned and her teammate Lee could be heard asking, “Why are they quiet?”
Simone Biles of the United States falls during the women’s balance beam final at the Bercy Arena during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, August 5, 2024 in Paris, France.
AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
Lee, who also fell on the beam, echoed Biles’ sentiments about the strange energy in the crowd.
“You could feel the tension in the room. I mean, the crowd cheering us on like we did, we didn’t like that because it was so quiet in there,” Lee said after finishing sixth. “I love hearing my teammates cheering for me.”
The format of the apparatus finals also meant that only one gymnast competed at a time, rather than multiple gymnasts competing on different parts of the floor. This put even more pressure on the athletes, who felt that all eyes were on them at the Bercy Arena in Paris.
“It adds stress, just because… you’re the only one up there,” Lee said. “The pressure was definitely there.”
Biles’ coach, Cecile Landi, also acknowledged the strange atmosphere.
“The crowd was great, except for the ‘hissing’ on the beam,” she said after the competition.
And it wasn’t just Team USA that had complaints about Monday’s crowd. Bronze medalist Manila Esposito was also struck by the silence in the arena.
“There was a lot of silence in the gym and that made it a little more stressful,” she said, “but it was nice because when we finished the exercise, it was even louder than normal.”
Meike Behrensen, senior communications manager for the International Gymnastics Federation, said in an email to The Associated Press that the decision not to play music during the finals “was part of the sport presentation plan at Paris 2024.”
It is impossible to say for sure whether the crowd dynamics had a meaningful impact on Monday’s podium finishes. Lee also acknowledged that she felt pressure because Monday was the final day of women’s gymnastics.
“I don’t know if you could see it, but a lot of people definitely felt it. I think it was the crowd, but also just knowing that we’re almost done and having that extra stress of trying to close it out the right way,” she said.
Despite a challenging beam final, Simone Biles and Team USA left the women’s gymnastics competitions with their heads held high and a lot of precious metal around their necks.
Biles won four medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics (three gold and one silver) and made history by improving her record as the most decorated gymnast of all time.
— with files from Reuters
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Kathryn Mannie
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