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"One of the best routines I’ve seen her do"-Simone Biles lauded by Australian gymnast Heath Thorpe after acing balance beam landing at Paris Olympics
Simone Biles was lauded by Australian gymnast Heath Thorpe after she executed a perfect balance beam routine during the women's gymnastics Qualification Subdivision 2 at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Gymnasts are looking to secure their names in the team and individual finals at the Summer Games.
Biles, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, missed out on a chance for gold at the Tokyo Olympics in the wake of her 'twisties', a situation where a gymnast's body and mind don't work in harmony. Following that, she was on a two-year-long hiatus and made her return at the 2023 US Classic, building up to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Biles earned her Paris qualification after posting the highest scores at the 2024 US Olympic Trials. At a highly anticipated women's gymnastics opening at the Paris Olympics, Biles performed a balance beam routine, the only event she medaled in at the Tokyo Olympics.
Her efforts earned her a score of 14.733, leading to the audience getting off their seats as they erupted in cheers. Fellow gymnast from Australia, Heath Thorpe, took to his X (formerly Twitter) account to laud the seven-time Olympic medalist for what he saw as "one of the best routines" for Biles in her Olympic opener event in the Women's Gymnastics Qualification Division 2.
"Simone Biles, welcome back to the Olympics! That right there is one of the best routines I’ve seen her do. An icon and inspiration!" his caption read.
Biles has qualified for the balance beam finals alongside Suni Lee, the Tokyo Olympic all-around champion, who posted a score of 14.033.
During the floor warmups, Biles tweaked her ankle and was assisted by the USA team doctor. With a taped ankle, she returned to the floor and attempted the Biles II, a combination of triple-twisting and double somersault. Her floor effort earned her 14.600.
Biles competed on the vault with a tweaked ankle, stuck the Yurchenko Double Pike landing and earned 15.800 for it, a score potentially difficult for other gymnasts to match. Her second vault earned her 14.800.
Simone Biles extended support to Heath Thorpe after he missed the 2023 Worlds team
The Australian artistic gymnast Heath Thorpe narrowly missed qualification for the Paris Olympics team, just 0.134 points short of the reserve position and 0.768 points behind the Olympic quota margin. At the 2023 World Championships, Thorpe faced a similar fate and missed making the team.
His resilience and grit didn't dim his spirits, and he was present at the 2023 Worlds as a member of the press. In a press event during the competition, Biles blew Thorpe a kiss and apparently said:
"I’m happy that you are here but you should be out here with us. We miss you," as posted by Thorpe on his Instagram handle.
The Team USA gymnastics women's team qualified in the all-around event with a total of 172.296 and Biles earned an all-around qualification score of 59.566, both earning the top position.
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