Biles scored a 13.100 and came in fifth overall in the final. Her Olympic medal total will remain at 10 as she heads into the last event of the Paris Olympics, the floor exercise, where she is considered a favorite for gold.
Biles won bronze on the balance beam in both Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
Her teammate, Suni Lee (13.100), also did not medal after falling during her routine.
Lee, who has six total Olympic medals, including two on uneven bars, has never won an individual balance beam medal. The balance beam was her final event of the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she picked up three more medals in a triumphant meet.
Italy's Alice D'Amato won the gold with a score of 14.366. China's Yaqin Zhou took the silver with a score of 14.100 and Italy's Manila Esposito took the bronze coming in at 14.000. This was Italy's first-ever Olympic gold medal in a balance beam final since 1912. D'Amato has earned two medals in Paris, also winning a silver in the team event earlier.
Beam Falls Are Common
"Balance beam is such an unforgiving, uncertain event. Mistakes happen all the time," Zhou said afterward. "I think the falters, falls, stumbles are because of the high pressure and the nature of balance beam."
The sizable crowd was quiet, and at times spectators shushed the gymnasts as they tried to cheer on their competitors. "We didn't like that, because it was just so silent in there," Lee said. "When I was up there, you could probably hear me breathing. It adds to the stress."
Exhaustion Contributes to Falls
Another factor: The Olympics is a long and grueling competition. By Monday, gymnasts had been competing for more than a week. Biles, who participated in all but one possible event, performed an Olympics-high 17 routines throughout the competition. "I've been out on that floor so many times competing, so obviously exhaustion and all of that sets in," she said.
The Floor Exercise Final
After a disappointing performance in the beam final, Biles will be looking for redemption in the floor exercise final. The floor is considered to be her strongest event, and she will be hoping to win her fourth gold medal of the Games.
Biles will join teammate Jordan Chiles in the floor exercise final at 8:23 a.m. ET, which you can watch live on E!, Peacock, or stream here. Chiles had competed in qualifying for the women's balance beam final, but did not qualify.
Biles's Future
Now that her time at the Paris Olympics has come to a close, the question of her future has started to simmer. At 27, Biles is already older than most elite female gymnasts. After the 25-year-old Rebeca Andrade and 23-year-old Jordan Chiles, no competitor who faced Biles on Monday was older than 21. Most were still in their teens.
Biles has not said whether she intends to retire from gymnastics now that her Olympic run has ended. On Sunday, she chastised journalists for inquiring.
"You guys really gotta stop asking athletes what’s next after they win a medal at the Olympics," she wrote on the social media site X. "Let us soak up the moment we’ve worked our whole lives for." (When one user asked what her next step would be after Paris, Biles replied: "babysitting the medal.")
The Floor Exercise Final: A Chance for Redemption
The floor exercise final will be a chance for Biles to show the world that she is still one of the greatest gymnasts in the world. She will be looking to end her Olympics on a high note and show that she can still perform at the highest level. Will she be able to pull off a redemption story and win the gold?
