Rebeca Andrade headlines medalists in dramatic final day of gymnastics at Paris 2024
PARIS – With the last medal on the last day of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Rebeca Andrade became the most decorated Olympian from Brazil ever.
It was a gold on floor that sealed the deal.
“I was fighting to finally have a gold, because I wanted that one so badly,” Andrade said. “I’m so glad I managed today.”
Andrade wasn’t the favorite for gold on floor, but after the day that unfolded inside Bercy Arena – one Simone Biles called “absolutely wild” – it seemed fitting to see the woman who has persevered through three ACL tears be the last to stand atop the podium in Paris, with Biles and Jordan Chiles, the silver and bronze medalists, literally bowing down to her.
“Rebeca, she’s so amazing – she’s queen,” Biles said. “And first, it was an all black podium, so that was super exciting for us. But then Jordan was like, ‘Should we bow to her?’ And I was like, ‘Absolutely.’ … It was just the right thing to do.”
Biles hit the most difficult routine in the final, as she has the entire Games, but was docked a detrimental six-tenths in out of bounds as she hopped out of her punch front full through to tucked double-double and double layout. The result saw Biles 0.033 behind Andrade, 14.166-14.133.
Chiles was initially out of the medals altogether when the score for her Beyonce-themed routine flashed 13.666, meaning Romania’s Ana Barbosu would take the bronze, but an inquiry bumped it to a 13.766 in a dramatic moment that saw Chiles celebrating while Barbosu was devastated, having already been waving the Romanian flag on the podium.
The other three finals were similar in dramatics, mainly because of the amount of falls.
To start the day, parallel bars was spared for the most part. China’s Zou Jingyuan easily defended his Olympic title with a 16.200, seven-tenths ahead of silver medalist Illia Kovtun (UKR) and nine-tenths ahead of bronze medalist Shinnosuke Oka (JPN). Only 2016 parallel bars gold medalist Oleg Verniaiev (UKR) fell.
The beam final was next, with four falls that were magnified by the abnormal amount of shushing from the crowd. With no music playing in the arena, you could hear a pin drop, and some in the crowd began shushing other fans and even the athletes on the floor who were rooting on those competing.
The cheers are normal, like white noise for the athletes, but the shushing, which was a glaring distraction, perplexed some.
“You could feel the tension in the room,” Sunisa Lee said after she split the beam on her side aerial series. “I mean, the crowd shushing us for cheering. We are just not – we did not like that, just because it’s just so silent in there. I love hearing my teammates cheer for me… Me and Simone were like, ‘Why are they shushing?’ Like, we’re just trying to cheer. But yea, she came off, and she was like, ‘I don’t know why they were shushing in the middle of my routine.'”
Biles echoed the sentiment after the floor final, saying, “It was really weird and awkward. And we’ve asked several times if we can have some music or some background noise. So I am not really sure what happened there, but yeah, not our favorite. None of us liked it.”
Italy’s Alice D’Amato was able to avoid the mistake bug and hit a clean routine to score a 14.366 and win the gold – Italy’s first in women’s gymnastics. The triumph comes after D’Amato was a devastating fourth in the all-around and fifth on uneven bars by small margins.
China’s Zhou Yaqin, the 2023 world silver medalist, was able to hang on to the silver despite touching the beam thanks to her high difficulty. D’Amato’s teammate Manila Esposito won the bronze after just one big balance check.
“If I didn’t have any words after winning silver in the team competition, I definitely don’t have any words right now,” D’Amato said. “I tried to keep concentrated on my routine. I was very disappointed after having narrowly missed out on the medals in the all-around and the uneven bars final. I really didn’t want to go home without another medal. So I persevered to achieve this medal. I don’t know what to say. I can’t believe it. I didn’t even expect to win a medal on beam, let alone the gold. I will soak in all the emotions and will do that for as long as I can.”
High bar was another festival of falls, with six of the eight athletes falling on releases or their dismount. In the end, it was Japan’s Oka who was triumphant after winning his fourth medal of the Games and his third gold after the team final and all-around. At just 17, the youngest male competitor in the field, Angel Barajas, became Colombia’s first Olympic medalist in gymnastics after a 14.533 that tied Oka but lost on the execution tie break. Despite both counting falls, China’s Zhang Boheng and Chinese Taipei’s Tang Chia-Hung tied for the bronze with matching difficulty and execution scores to total 13.966s.
“I might not have known all the past champions, but carving out my place in history feels amazing,” Oka said. “Competing at such a high level amongst legendary names is an honor.”
As the day winded down, the beam and floor medalists entered the mixed zone for one final press conference. When asked for their parting words, Simone Biles said, “It means the world that I could come back out here and compete on an international stage again, representing my country. I couldn’t have asked for a better Olympic Games, better support system, better teammates. So thank you, Paris.”
It’s a stark contrast to the Tokyo Games three years ago, but that’s all in the past now. Biles leaves Paris with 11 Olympic medals to her name – four from this Games, three being gold.
“I’ve accomplished way more than my wildest dreams, not just at this Olympics, but in the sport,” Biles said. “So I can’t be mad at my performances. A couple years ago, I didn’t think I’d be back here at an Olympic Games, so competing and then walking away with four medals, I’m not mad about it. I’m pretty proud of myself, and it’s always so exciting to compete.”
Biles only knows what her future holds, and maybe that decision is still up in the air. After all, she didn’t shut the door on LA 2028 earlier this week. But other athletes have alluded to Biles calling it a career, and the latest was her teammate and friend, Chiles, who responded to the above quote softly, saying, “I’m gonna miss you, man.”
Maybe it’s because Chiles is potentially heading back to UCLA to finish out her NCAA career. Maybe it’s because both will take an extended break after the Gold Over America Tour this fall. Or maybe it’s because nothing stays the same. Maybe the Greatest of All Time is ready for a new chapter.
Life isn’t perfect, and neither was Biles’ meet in Paris (although it was darn close). But just like she has shown the world you don’t have to be perfect to be the GOAT, you don’t need to win all the gold to have a fairytale ending.
Keep reading for a play-by-play recap of the final day. Click here to start from the beginning.
Mon. Aug 5 @ 3:35 p.m.
FINAL from Paris! What a dramatic ending, with Barbosu getting edged out of the medals and Chiles winning bronze after an inquiry!
Mon. Aug 5 @ 3:32 p.m.
Jordan Chiles (USA) FX: Qualified 3rd with a 13.866…. Time to close out the Games! Full-twisting double layout, rebound leg up, but still pretty tidy. Punch front full through to full-twisting double back, small hop. Double wolf turn. Double layout, single step forward. Crowd loves it! We’ll see if it’s enough for a medal… 13.666, off the podium in 5th… inquiry submitted, accepted. It’s a 13.766 – that’s 3rd!
Mon. Aug 5 @ 3:24 p.m.
Sabrina Maneca-Voinea (ROU) FX: Tucked double-double, small hop. Double layout to punch front, small adjustment. Full-twisting double back, hop back. Double back, nearly stuck, small hop. 13.700 – 4th right now after tie break with teammate Barbosu! Inquiry submitted on D-score… unchanged. She looks V unhappy.
Mon. Aug 5 @ 3:21 p.m.
Simone Biles (USA) FX: Over-cooked her triple-double in warmup, but she seems okay… Triple-double, small hop back, no worries. Punch front full through to tucked double-double, two feet out of bounds. Double wolf turn, bit wobbly but she’s good. Sticks the double layout half to stay in bounds! Two feet out of bounds on double layout. That’s six-tenths on out of bounds. Could make it interesting. 14.133 due to the out of bounds, which means Rebeca is in first! She could inquire because believe they took a tenth on difficulty, but she may not care.
OH THE SASS. She saluted for a longggg second before holding it as she walked off the podium.
Mon. Aug 5 @ 3:17 p.m.
Alice D’Amato (ITA) FX: Qualified 5th with a 13.700… Double Y-turn, excellent. Tucked double-double, small hop back. Triple twist, single foot out of bounds. Double wolf turn. Front handspring double full, small hop forward. 13.600 – into 3rd.
Mon. Aug 5 @ 3:13 p.m.
Ana Barbosu (ROU) FX: Whip to full-twisting double back, hop back. Pike 1/1. 2.5 to front full, out of bounds. Double wolf turn. Double back to punch front, small hop… Pretty sure her Gogean was also one of the best we’ve seen this Games! 13.700 – into 2nd!
Mon. Aug 5 @ 3:09 p.m.
Rina Kishi (JPN) FX: Qualified 8th with a 13.600. Tucked double-double, small step. Front full to front double full, looked like she had one foot on the line. Triple wolf turn. Falls out of Memmel turn. Double back, large step back and a little slide. Double pike, under-rotated slightly, step forward. 13.166.
Mon. Aug 5 @ 3:04 p.m.
Ou Yushan (CHN) FX: Qualified 6th with a 13.666. Triple twist, single step. 2.5 to front tuck (instead of pike, not on purpose), hop and two feet out of bounds. Triple turn. Double back, small hop back. Double L-turn. Triple wolf turn. 13.000.
Mon. Aug 5 @ 2:57 p.m.
Rebeca Andrade (BRA) FX: Qualified 2nd with a 13.900… Punch front full through to full-twisting double back, stuck. Full-twisting double layout, hop step back. Double Y-turn to stag. Double layout, small hop back. Double pike, single step. We’ll see what the score is, but should be on the podium. 14.166! Inquiry submitted on D-score – denied.
Mon. Aug 5 @ 2:53 p.m.
Manila Esposito (ITA) FX: Qualified 7th with a 13.633. The toe point of our dreams! Triple wolf turn, graceful! Double layout, under-rotated, believe she did that in all-around final too? Falls to her knees. Y-turn is insanely beautiful. 2.5 to front layout, soft knees and leg separation on the layout. Double pike, stumbles back, out of bounds. 12.133.
Mon. Aug 5 @ 2:47 p.m.
Women’s floor final to close the Games for gymnastics! Let’s make it a good one (please).
Mon. Aug 5 @ 2:23 p.m.
FINAL from an insane high bar final. First-ever gymnastics medal for Colombia!
Mon. Aug 5 @ 2:22 p.m.
6 of 8 athletes in the men’s high bar final fell. Many on dismounts. Zhang and Tang are currently tied for the bronze despite falls – WILD.
Mon. Aug 5 @ 2:21 p.m.
Su Weide (CHN) HB: Tak full, on top of the bar. Tak half, also perfect. Liukin. Laid-out Tkatchev. Kolman. Czech giant. Stalder. Laid-out double-double… and falls forward – 13.433 is 5th.
Mon. Aug 5 @ 2:19 p.m.
Tin Srbic (CRO) HB: 2020 silver medalist. Swinging great onto the stalder straddle Tkatchev, and he’s off…. laying down with his hands over his eyes, disappointed no doubt. Another major mistake after re-mounting, and he’s off again. Stuck full-twisting double layout. 11.333.
Mon. Aug 5 @ 2:12 p.m.
Zhang Boheng (CHN) HB: Tak full. Tak half to Kolman. Cassina. Laid-out Tkatchev. Straddle. Taktchev. Czech giant – awe from the crowd. Under-rotated laid-out double-double, and he falls forward, touching the mat! 13.966 – tied for 3rd with Tang!
Mon. Aug 5 @ 2:08 p.m.
Takaaki Sugino (JPN) HB: Qualified 3rd with a 14.733. Pegan, one arm but gets it back quick. Unfortunately falls on the next release. 11.633.
Mon. Aug 5 @ 2:04 p.m.
Marios Georgiou (CYP) HB: Tak full. Tak half. Cassina. Kolman. Tak. Stalder. Hop 1/1. One-arm giant 1/1. Full-twisitng double layout, too long and too short on the rotations, falls forward. 13.333.
Mon. Aug 5 @ 2:01 p.m.
Angel Barajas (COL) HB: Tak full. Tak half to laid-out Tkatchev, bent knees and arches, not enough air it seemed. Cassina, stunning. Kovacs to Kolman, crowd loves that. Hop 1/1. Toe-on. Laid-out double-double, small hop. 17 years old – youngest men’s artistic gymnast at the Games! 14.533 – tied with Oka but loses the tie break, so he’s into 2nd!
Mon. Aug 5 @ 1:57 p.m.
Shinnosuke Oka (JPN) HB: Tak full. Tak half. Kolman, clean. Laid-out Tkatchev. Straddle Tkatchev. Czech giants to the awe of the crowd. Laid-out double-double – stuck! 14.533!
Mon. Aug 5 @ 1:53 p.m.
Tang Chia-Hung (TPE) HB: Qualified 2nd with a 14.933. Tak half to laid-out Tkatchev to straddle Tkatchev to pike Taktchev, clean. Cassina, fingertips, and he falls. Cassina again, catches it. Tak full to Walstrom. One-arm giant 1/1. Full-twisting double layout, so much air, and sticks it. 13.966.
Mon. Aug 5 @ 1:47 p.m.
Start list for the men’s high bar final (that none of us are recovered for!)
Mon. Aug 5 @ 1:28 p.m.
FINAL from the most dramatic beam final.
Mon. Aug 5 @ 1:23 p.m.
Rebeca Andrade (BRA) BB: Qualified 3rd with a 14.500. Switch leap mount. Switch leap to switch half to split jump, good. Back handspring to layout stepout, good. Front aerial, hesitation, little arm swing. Switch ring. Side aerial, little bend. Ring jump, beautiful. Full turn, litttleeee lean. Following jumps are good. Double pike, hop back. Will she finally be golden in Paris!? 13.933 – 4th!!! Seems she missed multiple connections, which means her D-score took a hit.
Mon. Aug 5 @ 1:17 p.m.
Simone Biles (USA) BB: One thing she doesn’t have? A beam gold. She’s the two-time bronze medalist at the past two Games. Switch leap mount. Switch leap to switch half to back pike, clean as always. Triple wool turn. Front aerial to split jump to straddle jump. Back handspring to layout stepout…. and she’s off. Side aerial. Full-twisting double back, staggered landing but stuck. Qualified 2nd with a 14.733. Really was an excellent set besides the fall. Score: 13.100 – 4th. No third straight bronze for her. Got a -0.3 deduction for… not saluting the judges potentially?
Mon. Aug 5 @ 1:13 p.m.
Alice D’Amato (ITA) BB: Qualified 7th with a 13.866. Has narrowly missed out on multiple individual medals here… can she do it today? Switch leap mount to front aerial to straddle jump to Sissone. Switch leap to switch ring. Back handspring to layout stepout, good. Punch front, small adjustment on the landing. Double wolf turn. 2.5 twist is basically stuck! That should be a good score! 14.366 – into 1st with two to go! She’s guaranteed a medal!
Mon. Aug 5 @ 1:07 p.m.
This arena is getting very tense. People are rooting on the gymnasts, including the gymnasts on the floor, but others in the crowd are shhhh-ing very noticeably left and right for the past couple athletes.
Mon. Aug 5 @ 1:06 p.m.
Sabrina Maneca-Voinea (ROU) BB: Action-packed routine to come. Can she hit it? Roundoff full-twisting layout, bends in half, and falls off. Hits the two-footed layout series to follow. Splits the beam on the next skill. Finishes well and a double back dismount. 11.733.
Mon. Aug 5 @ 1:03 p.m.
Manila Esposito (ITA) BB: A stunning beam worker with the potential to make this podium! Qualified 6th with a 13.966. Back handspring mount to immediate layout stepout to back handspring. Switch leap to split 1/2 to back handspring, fabulous. Front aerial, smallest of hesitations. Side aerial, leg up balance check. Lovely work into the triple wolf turn, clean. Back walkover is stunning. Her toe point is sublime. Double pike, stuck! Only mistake was that leg up partway through. Should be a good score. 14.000. Zhou’s D-score is nearly a point higher, which is why she’s ahead despite the major mistake.
Mon. Aug 5 @ 12:56 p.m.
Julia Soares (BRA) BB: Front candle mount with half turn. Double wolf turn, solid. Back handspring layout. Front aerial to split jump to back tuck, slightesttttt of checks. Switch leap. Really attacking the beam. Next leap she’s off. Finished strong. Good double pike dismount.
Mon. Aug 5 @ 12:53 p.m.
Sunisa Lee (USA) BB: Going for the straddle mount once again, so no layout here in Paris – smart move. Triple wolf turn, solid. Front aerial to split jump to back handspring, excellent. Switch leap to switch half to ring jump, perfect. Side aerial to layout stepout to layout stepout, splits the beam – devastating. Rough fall. Switch ring, another bobble, leg up. Piked gainer full dismount. The hit parts were absolutely stellar. She was clear she wanted beam gold here, so no doubt disappointed, but she seems in good spirits. Who knows, maybe that will be motivation for a run at LA? 13.100.
Mon. Aug 5 @ 12:47 p.m.
Zhou Yaqin (CHN) BB: Qualified 1st with a 14.866. Arabesque mount, lovely. Front handspring front tuck to split jump, excellent. Switch ring, state of the art. Side somi, floats to a tuck jump 1/1 to another jump 1/1 and then a balance check, bends over, touches the beam. You can hear Simone rooting her on, saying, “There you go. Come on!” over the rest of the women, who are all cheering for her to finish strong. Triple twist, large step. 14.100 – inquiry submitted, score unchanged.
Mon. Aug 5 @ 12:43 p.m.
Here’s the start list! Reigning world silver medalist Zhou Yaqin starting things off. Reigning world gold medalist Simone Biles second to last. Rebeca Andrade, the reigning world bronze medalist, is last.
Zhou qualified first, just barely ahead of Biles. Andrade behind them. Lee has made it clear beam gold is one of her biggest goals here. She was fourth in qualifying.
Mon. Aug 5 @ 12:34 p.m.
Beam final coming up shortly!
Mon. Aug 5 @ 12:23 p.m.
Another one for the GOAT of parallel bars! Zou Jingyuan finishes his Games with three medals: gold on parallel bars, silver on team, silver on rings.
Illia Kovtun wins his first Olympic medal with the silver! Shinnosuke Oka continues a stellar Games, adding parallel bars bronze to his two golds from the team and all-around.
Mon. Aug 5 @ 12:21 p.m.
Shinnosuke Oka (JPN) PB: Qualified 3rd with a 15.300. Already a two-time gold medalist with the team and in the all-around. This routine should produce a podium worthy score after he floated through it. Not enough to catch Zou, but maybe Illia? Stuck double front half. 15.300, and he’s 3rd!
Mon. Aug 5 @ 12:18 p.m.
Lukas Dauser (GER) PB: Tore his bicep only a few weeks ago but is somehow here and qualified 5th with a 15.166. The reigning world champion and 2020 silver medalist. He’s had a week since qualifying to rest up and recuperate. Early mistake when he clips the bar in a turn. Rest of the routine is good. Double front half and a hop back. The fact that he’s even competing here is incredible. 13.700.
Mon. Aug 5 @ 12:14 p.m.
Zou Jingyuan (CHN) PB: Now, for the man, the myth, the legend. Really, the undisputed GOAT of this apparatus. Qualified 1st with a 16.200 and is the defending Olympic champion. Straddle front is sky-high. So is the Bhavsar. This crowd appreciates the artist at work. Tippelt is so floaty. Double front half, sticks it with great chest position. That should do it for another Olympic title. 16.200 to match his qualifying. All in a day’s work for Zou Jingyuan!
Mon. Aug 5 @ 12:10 p.m.
Oleg Verniaiev (UKR) PB: 2016 Olympic champion! Can he return to the podium after challenges the past few years? Immediately doesn’t hit handstand to open. He’s working very quickly through this set, but parallel bars isn’t supposed to be quick necessarily – it can show a lack of control. Mistake on his Bhavsar, clipping the bar which leads to a form issue and disrupts his rhythm, and then he falls on a single bar handstand immediately after. Definitely settles in for the final moments. Double front half, stuck. 13.300 – 5th right now.
Mon. Aug 5 @ 12:04 p.m.
Wataru Tanigawa (JPN) PB: Swinging good but then a mistake out of one his baskets to handstand, when he walks a few shoulder lengths across the bar, trying not to fall. Deep in the knees on the dismount, but stuck it. 14.133 – 4th right now.
Mon. Aug 5 @ 12:00 p.m.
Ferhat Arican (TUR) PB: Qualified 7th with a 15.033. This routine is difficult but the execution is lacking compared to the previous to. Some adjustments, muscling at points. Almost goes over on a handstand, but is able to keep it together. Stuck double front half, and he’s very happy! 15.100 – into 3rd after tie break with Zhang.
Mon. Aug 5 @ 11:58 a.m.
Zhang Boheng (CHN) PB: Qualified 2nd with a 15.333. Great extension throughout. Excellent show of flexibility. Fabulous releases including an excellent Bhavsar (although nothing compares to teammate Zou’s). Double front half, small hop. 15.100 – into 2nd. Difficulty just isn’t there for the podium.
Mon. Aug 5 @ 11:53 a.m.
Illia Kovtun (UKR) PB: Qualified 6th with a 15.166. Swinging smoothly. Excellent Makuts. Beautiful handstands and transitions. Clean Diamidov. Handstand on one rail – crowd loved. Had one moment where he had to muscle a little.. Double front dismount with a large hop back. 15.500 – upped his difficulty by three-tenths!
Mon. Aug 5 @ 11:48 a.m.
Here’s the start list for parallel bars! First half touch happening now.
Mon. Aug 5 @ 11:00 a.m.
Welcome inside Bercy Arena for day three of event finals! Today’s lineup includes men’s parallel bars, women’s balance beam, men’s high bar, and women’s floor. It all starts at 11:45 a.m. CEST/ 5:45 a.m. EDT.
