Biles scored a 14.00 on the balance beam event, behind China’s Guan Chenchen and Tang Xijing, who respectively won gold with a score of 14.633 and silver with a score of 14.233. NBC will broadcast the balance beam event finals on Tuesday, August 3 at 8 pm EST. Biles, 24, withdrew from the gymnastics team final as well as the all-around, vault, bars and floor finals after getting a case of the “twisties,” a feeling of disorientation that often afflicts gymnasts in the air. She previously described the debilitating sensation as feeling like she “literally can not tell up from down” and feeling lost while in the air, her body and mind unable to sync up to successfully land moves that she previously had seemingly effortlessly nailed. “Things were not connecting and I don’t know what went wrong. People say it’s like stress-related, but I honestly, I could not tell you because I felt fine," Biles said Tuesday of her struggles to perform earlier in the Tokyo Games. “I think I’m still trying to process this a little bit.” “It’s been a very long week, it’s been a very long five years,” Biles told reporters following her third-place victory. “I didn’t expect a medal today I just wanted to go out there and do this for me and that’s exactly what I did.” She also explained that she didn’t have to worry about getting the dreaded twisties on the balance beam because they aren’t part of her routine for that event. “I wasn’t expecting to walk away with the medal. I was just going out there doing this for me,” Biles said. “To have one more opportunity to be at the Olympics meant the world to me.” Biles now has a total of seven Olympic medals: Four gold medals for vault, all-around, team and floor finals in 2016, two bronze medals for balance beam (2016 and 2020), and one silver for team in 2020. Team USA tweeted of Biles’ comeback, “Making history. Always. @Simone_Biles ties the record for the most Olympic medals won by a U.S. gymnast. #Tokyo Olympics.” Biles became not just a hero for her unrivaled athleticism, but also for her commitment to her own self-care, wellbeing and mental health after she pulled out of the earlier events. She reportedly said of her withdrawals, “We want to walk out of here … not be dragged out of here on a stretcher or anything. So, it’s like, got to do what’s best for me, and that was what was best for the team.” The most decorated Olympic gymnast of all time will likely go to therapy when she returns home, her coach Cecile Landi told press. Biles said she was overwhelmed by all of the support she received, not just from her own teammates and coaches, fellowOlympians including Calaeb Dressel and Michael Phelps, and from people all over the world who applauded her for putting her needs first, though she also acknowledged she’s received hateful remarks from strangers online as well. “I got a lot of great comments, like a lot of outpouring support and love, but I also got a lot of bad stuff,” she said. “You guys have no idea what we’re going through.” Next, look back at the top moments in Summer Olympics history!
