Never count the American gymnasts out.
U.S. stars Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles made the most of their last routines on the floor at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Monday.
Biles and Chiles secured silver and bronze spots on the podium in the women’s floor exercise final with scores of 14.133 and 13.766, respectively. That bumped Biles up to four medals earned in Paris while Chiles captured two.
Brazil's Rebeca Andrade collected her first Olympic gold medal with a score of 14.166.
The remarkable outcome for Biles comes just an hour after the star had a disappointing showing in the balance beam final. Her 13.100 score placed her fifth when the event concluded.
Nonetheless, Biles is headed back home with 11 total Olympic medals to her name, still making her the most decorated U.S. gymnast of all time. As for Chiles, she is officially an individual Olympic medalist.
Why was Jordan Chiles' floor exercise score changed during the 2024 Olympics?
In a shocking turn of events, Chiles suddenly earned bronze on the floor.
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But what happened?
As Romania’s Ana Barbosu was celebrating her apparent bronze medal, it was announced Chiles, who originally captured fifth, had earned it instead.
Chiles originally scored 13.600 but Team USA submitted an inquiry, saying that one of her leap’s difficult level should have been a D instead of a C — a grade that would award the American more points for execution.
The inquiry was indeed approved and Chiles’ new score was 13.766, narrowly ahead of Barbosu’s 13.700.
How does the scoring work for gymnastics floor exercises?
The 90 routine classicly includes three or four tumbling passes with gymnasts trying to showcase their best moves with precise execution.
Classicly, the most difficult passes are performed first in the routine.
Gymnasts then receive a score based on difficulty and another based on execution before the two scores are added together.
