After Olympic gymnast Simone Biles fell on the balance beam during competition on August 5 in Paris, France, she expressed concerns about the crowd’s “shushing” behavior, according to CNN.
Video shows Biles losing her footing and falling off the beam.
After the fall, while waiting for her score, Biles “appeared frustrated with the crowd,” BBC reported. According to CNN, Biles later called out the “shushing from the crowd” as an issue for gymnasts.
According to CNN, Biles noted the “silence in the arena – marked by some shushing from the crowd when the gymnasts tried to cheer on their teammates” during the beam performance.
“I don’t know. It was really weird and awkward,” Biles said, according to CNN. “And we’ve asked several times if we can have some music or some background noise, so I’m not really sure what happened there. But yeah, not our favorite. None of us liked it.”
According to the Mirror, while she waited for her score, Biles appeared to vent frustration at the crowd, saying, “Stop shushing, why are they shushing,” leading BBC’s on-air broadcaster Craig Heap to say, “Simone is not happy at all. It just goes to show she is a human being. All the other ladies in that final have made mistakes. She’s not invincible.” WalesOnline quoted Heap as also saying, “I have never seen Simone Biles so angry in my life. Something has gone on there.”
‘Stop shushing’ – Simone Biles fumes at crowd and judges after being denied attempt for historic fifth Olym…
Gymnastics Now reported a fuller quote from Biles on the topic:
Beam final is always the most stressful, but usually we have, like, music or background noise, whatever that may be. And honestly, we do better in environments when there’s noise going on, because it feels most like practice. So today, like, you can hear some of the Android ringtones going off, the photo clickers, whatever that was, and so, you know, trying to stay in your zone. And then people start cheering, and then the shushing gets louder. So really, they should be shushed because they’re louder. I don’t know. 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.
Fellow U.S. gymnast Suni Lee, who also fell on the beam, agreed the shushing was an issue, saying, according to CNN, “It was a lot of pressure. It was just crazy to see how everybody was going down like that. You could feel the tension in the room. The crowd shushing us for cheering. We didn’t like that as it was just so silent in there. I love hearing my teammates cheer for me.”
The Rare Fall for Simone Biles Took Her Out of Medal Contention for Balance Beam
GettySimone Biles of Team United States reacts after falling while competing during the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Balance Beam Final on day ten of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Bercy Arena on August 05, 2024, in Paris, France.
The New York Post called the fall “rare” for Biles, which led to a 13.100 score on the apparatus. According to People Magazine, Lee, also of the USA Team, also fell on the balance beam, robbing both Biles and Lee of medals in that event.
Biles’ fall came toward the end of her routine.
Biles had already won the gold medal in Paris in the women’s all-around, women’s team, and vault competitions, according to Olympics.com. She placed fifth on the balance beam due to the fall and second on the floor exercise, earning a silver medal for the latter, the site reported.
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According to Olympics.com, despite the fall, Biles is “the most decorated gymnast in history.”
Simone Biles Struck a Positive Note After the Fall, Saying She Was ‘Pretty Proud of Myself’ for Her Olympic Performance Overall
Getty USA’s Simone Biles performs on the balance beam during the women’s all-around final of gymnastics competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Biles struck a positive tone with reporters after the fall, CNN reported.
“I accomplished way more than my wildest dreams – not just at this Olympics, but in this sport,” Biles told reporters, according to CNN. “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.”
Many people on social media praised Biles despite the fall.
“Simone Biles’ fall off the beam is a reminder that the strongest can falter and that’s just human 🤍” a woman wrote on X.
Another person wrote, “@Simone_Biles has shown us: You can’t judge people’s strength when they fall. Their fortitude is visible when they rise again. Resilience is not about how quickly you bounce back—it’s about how you recover.”
However, another person wrote on X, “You’re a talented gymnast but the rolling of the eyes at the audience because you failed on beam was uncalled for.”
Wrote another person, “Other than the fall Simone Biles did unreal. can’t blame the audience for that though, gotta take it on the chin.”
“For reference Simone biles didn’t get shushed by the audience it’s because her American fans were cheering and that’s considered rude in Europe,” another person wrote on X.
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‘Angry’ Simone Biles Calls Out Crowd’s ‘Weird’ Shushing After Falling From Balance Beam: Report