3 Gymnasts who can stop Simone Biles from winning four gold medals at Paris Olympics 2024 ft. Rebecca Andrade

By Zahid Rashid Dar

Modified Jul 30, 2024 12:36 GMT

Simone Biles was dominant during the women's gymnastics qualification at the Paris Olympics 2024. The seven-time Olympic medalist topped three of the four events, and going into the finals, she is the favorite to win gold medals in all three with a chance for the fourth individual gold medal as well.

Biles won four gold medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics, three individual and one team, and she will have her eyes on nothing less than matching that feat. Though she is a favorite, this is gymnastics and at the biggest stage, so anything can happen.

A small deduction or a small fall can make a large difference in the scores. Biles rarely falls but if it does happen, there will be 3 gymnasts who will just need that small margin to beat Biles. Let's take a look at them:

3 toughest opponents of Simone Biles at the Paris Olympics 2024 gymnastics finals

3. Yaqin Zhou

Yaqin Zhou at the Gymnastics World Cup "Tournament of Champions" | Getty

Yaqin Zhou had the best balance beam routine during the qualification rounds at the Paris Olympics 2024. Like Simone Biles on vault and floor, the Chinese gymnast is the woman to beat in the beam finals, where she is very likely going to run away with the gold medal.

Biles is weakest on the balance beam among all disciplines. Although she placed second during the qualification round, that was largely due to third-placed Suni Lee's shaky start. Following Zhou, Lee will be the second favorite for the gold while Biles might have to settle for the bronze medal.

2. Suni Lee

Suni Lee at the 2024 Summer Olympics | Getty

Suni Lee is the reigning all-around Olympic champion, and despite being largely out of competition in 2023, the former Auburn gymnast has made incredible progress over the last two months. Lee placed third in the all-around competition during the qualifiers, despite a nervy start on the balance beam, which is her premier event.

If Lee is at her best during the finals, she will have a chance at beating both Rebecca Andrade and Simone Biles for the all-around gold medal. The defending champion is the favorite to beat Biles on the balance beam as well, irrespective of whether she can upstage China's Yaqin Zhou for gold.

1. Rebecca Andrade

Rebecca Andrade [L] and Simone Biles [R] at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships 2023 | Getty

Rebecca Andrade is among the few gymnasts in the world who have beaten Simone Biles in their career. The Brazilian pipped the American to the vault gold medal at the 2023 World Championships, and she would look to replicate that result at the Paris Olympics 2024.

Andrade was just behind Biles in all five events, and a small error for the seven-time Olympic medalist could prove very costly for her four gold medal ambitions. With a very small chance of winning a gold medal on the balance beam, Biles will need to win all-around, vault, and floor exercise, and in all three, Andrade is going to be a real threat to the American.

The Brazilian has been teasing a triple-twisting Yurchenko move as well, and if she does land it, Biles' chances of four gold medals could be in jeopardy.