Simone Biles wins bronze on balance beam in return to Olympic competition

Simone Biles ended her Tokyo campaign on a high to claim balance beam bronze. And in signing off she revealed another heartache that has clouded her campaign.

She didn’t get the gold, but American superstar Simone Biles left the Tokyo Olympics a winner after conquering the demons which had derailed her gymnastics campaign.

Biles, 24, took bronze in the balance beam, the only event she completed despite starting Tokyo with some pundits predicting she was capable of a clean sweep of six gold medals.

She had pulled out of the teams event last week after becoming disorientated midway through her first vault, and took a week to work on her mental health, also withdrawing from the individual all-around, floor, uneven bars and vault.

Walking in to a standing ovation, Biles was third up, and scored 14.000.

A triumphant return for Simone Biles! She takes home bronze on the beam. #Toky2020#ArtisticGymnasticspic.twitter.com/7AWj6AIBpm

— Herald Sun Sport (@heraldsunsport) August 3, 2021

Chinese teen sensations Chenchen Guan, 16, and Xijing Tang, 18, took gold and silver, with Guan scoring 14.633 in the final routine of the night.

Tang’s 14.233 had come immediately before Biles, so it was obvious early-on the American would not walk away with the fairytale gold ending.

Biles soared on the balance beam. Picture: Getty Images

Biles’ routine, which included three consecutive backflips, appeared flawless in its execution, but was deemed to have a lower degree of difficulty than those of the Chinese competitors.

A relieved Biles started smiling before she had even settled on her landing, and was surrounded by the other competitors who rushed to hug her. She waved to the huge contingent of press photographers as broadcasters in multiple languages narrated her performance across the globe.

An emotional Biles later said it had “meant the world’’ to get another Olympic chance.

She said that as late as the previous night, she didn’t know if she would be competing and worked with doctors and sports psychologists before her event, trying to stay “level-headed’’.

“I was just happy to be able to perform regardless of the outcome. I wasn’t expecting to walk away with the medal, I was just doing this for me,” said Biles, who revealed her aunt died two days ago.

“I did this for me and me only. I just went out there and had fun.”

“It wasn’t easy pulling out of all the competitions. People just thought it was easy but I physically and mentally was not in the right headspace and I didn’t want to jeopardise my health and my safety.

“Because at the end of the day it’s not worth it. My mental and physical health is above all medals that I could ever win. It just meant the world to be back out there and I wasn’t expecting to walk away with the medal.

Biles eyes off a medal on the balance beam. Picture: Getty Images

“I was just going out there doing this for me and whatever happens, happens.’’

She said she was going home to “work on herself’’ and would tour America with her teammates. She brushed off questions about whether she would compete in Paris in three years’ time, saying she was still trying to process Tokyo.

“Just to have one more opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games meant the world because training for five years and then coming here, and then kind of being triggered and not being able to do anything, it wasn’t fun,’’ she said.

She said she could comp`ete in the beam but not on the other apparatus because they put her safety at risk.

“Because it’s twisting and I would just keep getting lost in the air and crashing, and (with) beam obviously I don’t have that issue,’’ she said.

IOC president Thomas Bach intercepted Biles to congratulate her as she left the field of play.

One of the true global superstars at the Games – and the only athlete to have her own emoji – Biles was a major drawcard and her withdrawal had been a huge blow for organisers.

She had won bronze in Rio for this event, along with four golds, and there is speculation her performance in Japan will be the end of her Olympic career.

A bronze-medal winning smile for Simone Biles. Picture: Picture: Getty Images

Biles embraces teammate Sunisa Lee after their competition. Picture: Getty Images