Chaotic Olympic balance beam event ends with huge upset, and disappointment for Simone Biles

The balance beam competition saw a major upset as Alice D’Amato won Italy’s first gymnastics gold medal.

[{"selector":"#anim-86fdf466-d1bf-4569-aea0-67a6c26421f8","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-54f79b41-2c3b-4010-8c8f-c1b40c4e1083","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(94.00429%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":1600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

The 21-year-old D’Amato, who previously won team silver, scored 14.366 despite early nerves.

[{"selector":"#anim-277d4ebe-1e1a-4022-a35d-8d10c03240bc","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-bf35c61a-ac4d-4202-aa93-7b1d08ea8ddc","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(94.00429%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":1600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

Her 5.8 difficulty score was modest, but her execution secured the win over Zhou Yaqin (14.100) and Manila Esposito (14.000).

[{"selector":"#anim-d672c608-cb2a-446e-b370-b6020a5ca6a2","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-bbbc3292-c4c7-40a5-a227-44547cc61ee9","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(94.00429%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":1600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

D’Amato benefited from mistakes by favorites, with Zhou and Simone Biles having major issues in their routines.

[{"selector":"#anim-4302e180-a4cd-4cd6-b5b1-6f8657019fdc","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-e7d1e695-71b7-497e-8a58-217262feb175","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(94.00429%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":1600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

Zhou's qualifying score of 14.866 would have won gold, but a crucial mistake reduced her score on Monday.

[{"selector":"#anim-f85314ed-03f9-4d78-93b4-7793d7e6573a","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-da0ef8fb-0c8b-4619-ba2d-90ed43f49c4b","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(94.00429%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":1600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

Biles fell during her routine, earning a 7.200 execution score and a 0.300 penalty, finishing fifth.

[{"selector":"#anim-3c4b08e3-e06a-4c27-b818-1e1141a7f440","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-f422aceb-82e4-40c5-a7d2-6e2da10bc1f4","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(94.00429%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":1600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

Scoring delays added to the drama, with Biles particularly frustrated by the wait after her turn.

[{"selector":"#anim-0a2d5391-8157-42f0-802a-ee91a8389b16","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-18ee74a3-a526-4da1-8985-cfbe80352cb9","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(94.00429%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":1600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]