Simone Biles, 27, has the opportunity to join the select group of most decorated Olympic athletes when she competes for her eighth and ninth titles in the beam and floor finals on the final day of artistic gymnastics competition at the Paris Games on Monday.
The American, who has already won the team, individual all-around and vault gold medals in Paris, is the favorite on floor, but the beam competition promises to be fierce, as a small mistake could cost her the medal.
If she wins both beam and floor, Biles will reach nine Olympic gold medals, tying her with American swimmer Katie Ledecky and Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina for the most gold medals won by a female athlete.
Her main competitors on beam are teammate Sunisa Lee and China’s Zhou Yaqin, both of whom have performed more difficult exercises than Biles this year. Zhou took the lead on beam with 14.866 points, just 0.133 points ahead of Biles. Brazilian Rebeca Andrade, who qualified in third place, is known for the precision of her execution, despite being the least difficult of the top four.
Lee matched Biles’ difficulty in only one of her three beam performances in Paris. However, the fourth-place finisher and overall individual bronze medallist outdid her teammate on this apparatus.