Who is Alice D'Amato? All about the Italian gymnast who defeated Simone Biles to win balance beam at the Paris Olympics

By Abhiruchi Rout

Modified Aug 05, 2024 12:31 GMT

Alice D'Amato is an artistic gymnast who represents Italy. She has made headlines after winning the gold medal in the women’s balance beam at the 2024 Paris Olympics. With this, she also scripted history for her nation by becoming Italy’s first-ever Olympic gold medalist in women’s artistic gymnastics.

In the finals of the balance beam event, D'Amato topped a star-studded field that included Simone Biles, Suni Lee, and Rebeca Andrade. She scored 14.366 points to bag the prestigious gold medal for her country. Zhou Yaqin of China and compatriot Manila Esposito collected the silver and bronze medals with 14.100 and 14.000 points, respectively.

Both Biles and Lee, from the USA, fell while performing their routines on the beam, which resulted in them acquiring 13.100 points each to occupy fifth and sixth places, respectively. Brazil’s Andrade, who was favored to win after the falls suffered by Biles and Lee, came fourth with a score of 13.933 points.

With D'Amato achieving this historic milestone for her nation, she has now become a two-time Olympic medalist. She previously won a silver medal in the team event, contributing to Italy’s second-place finish in the women's all-around team event along with teammates Esposito, Angela Andreoli, Elisa Iorio, and Giorgia Villa.

D'Amato also featured in the women’s individual all-around final where she narrowly missed out on a podium finish by securing a fourth finish with a total of 56.333 points, 14.000 on the vault, 14.800 on the uneven bars, 14.033 on the balance beam, and 13.500 on the floor exercise. She was only 0.132 points behind Lee who won bronze in the event with 56.465 points.

Notably, D'Amato's finish marked Italy's best placement in an all-around individual final, eclipsing Vanessa Ferrari's eighth-place finish at the 2012 London Olympics. As the 21-year-old artistic gymnast etched her name in history books, let’s explore more about D'Amato.

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Alice D'Amato’s family and hometown

Alice D'Amato was born on February 7, 2003, in Genoa, Italy. She has a twin sister named Asia, who represented Italy at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Alice and Asia lost their father Massimo in 2022. Their mother’s name is Elena Campanella.

When did Alice D'Amato take up gymnastics?

Both Alice and her sister Asia took up gymnastics at the age of 7 as they trained at the Andrea Doria Sports Club in Genoa.

Other top achievements of Alice D'Amato

Alice D'Amato of Italy at the 2024 European Championships. (Photo by Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images)

Besides Alice D'Amato’s sterling accomplishments at the 2024 Paris Olympics, she has an Artistic Gymnastics World Championships bronze medal in the all-around team event from 2019. Team members Alice and Asia D'Amato, Desiree Carofiglio, Elisa Iorio, Giorgia Villa, and Martina Maggio, collected 164.796 points to bag the third position behind the USA (172.330) and Russia (166.529).

Additionally, D'Amato has won four gold, three silver, and two bronze medals in her various appearances at the European Women’s Gymnastics Championships.