1 of 7 | Suni Lee, of the United States, bobbles and falls during the women’s artistic gymnastics individual balance beam finals at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

2 of 7 | Suni Lee, of the United States, falls while competing during the women’s artistic gymnastics individual balance beam finals at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

3 of 7 | Simone Biles, of the United States, falls on the beam during the women’s artistic gymnastics individual balance beam finals in Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

4 of 7 | Simone Biles, of the United States, falls on the beam during the women’s artistic gymnastics individual balance beam finals in Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

5 of 7 | Julia Soares, of Brazil, falls on the beam during the women’s artistic gymnastics individual balance beam finals in Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

6 of 7 | Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, of Romania, falls on the beam during the women’s artistic gymnastics individual balance beam finals in Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

7 of 7 | Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, of Romania, falls on the beam during the women’s artistic gymnastics individual balance beam finals in Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

By  WILL GRAVES
Updated 11:17 PM 6/8/2024, August 5, 2024

Share

Want more Olympics? Sign up for our daily Postcards from Paris newsletter.

PARIS (AP) — An unusually quiet arena may have played a factor in a shaky balance beam final for Simone Biles, Sunisa Lee and a handful of other event finalists Monday.

Biles, Lee, Brazil’s Julia Soares and Romania’s Sabrina Maneca-Voinea all fell during their routines inside Bercy Arena, where no music was played and some fans hushed others for making noise while the athletes were up. Italy’s Alice D’Amato barely wobbled, by comparison, on her way to gold.

“It was really weird and awkward,” said Biles, who finished fifth behind Lee. “We’ve asked several times if we can have some music, or some background noise. I’m not really sure what happened there, but yeah, not our favorite. None of us liked it.”

Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, of Romania, falls on the beam during the women’s artistic gymnastics individual balance beam finals in Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

International Gymnastics Federation senior communications manager Meike Behrensen said in an email to The Associated Press the decision was “part of the sport presentation plan at Paris 2024.”

Advertisement

There is typically a wall of sound at all times during meets that can serve essentially as background noise to the athletes, who like it because it in some way mimics the cacophony of a typical practice at their home gyms.

READ MORE

Simone Biles caps Paris Olympics ‘Redemption Tour’ with one last medal — silver in floor routine

Sunisa Lee couldn’t get out of bed in December. Now she has three Olympic medals in Paris

Fans of the Olympics find a new star. And Laurie Hernandez is not even competing this time

Music was played during qualifying, team finals and all-around finals for both the men and women during the Paris Games.

The atmosphere changed during individual event finals, when the music was shut off.

Suni Lee, of the United States, falls while competing during the women’s artistic gymnastics individual balance beam finals at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Nowhere was the silence that more noticeable than on beam, a four-inch wide piece of wood 4 feet off the ground that requires intense concentration.

While some in a crowd that included NFL great Tom Brady offered support during the routines, many also told others to quiet, making a typically boisterous atmosphere sound more like a golf tournament.

Julia Soares, of Brazil, falls on the beam during the women’s artistic gymnastics individual balance beam finals in Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Lee and Biles, both of whom slipped at the end of their acrobatic series, couldn’t help but notice. They commiserated afterward.

Catch up on the latest from Day 11 of the 2024 Paris Olympics:

Boxing: Imane Khelif, the Algerian boxer who has faced misconceptions about her gender, returns to the ring.
Basketball: Lebron James, seeking his fourth Olympic medal, will lead the U.S. men’s basketball team in a quarterfinal game against Brazil.
Keep up: Follow along with our Olympics medal tracker and list of winners. Check out the Olympic schedule of events.

“The pressure was definitely on,” Lee said. “I don’t know if you could tell, but a lot of people were definitely feeling it. I think it was the crowd but also just knowing that we’re so close to being done and just adding that extra stress of wanting to end it off the right way.”

Advertisement

The 21-year-old six-time Olympic medalist joked she wondered if the sea of photographers a few feet away could hear her breathing.

“It adds to the stress, just because it’s like you, yes, you’re the only one up there,” said Lee. “So I was feeling the pressure.”

__