The balance beam final for women's gymnastics at the 2024 Olympics saw an unexpected number of falls and wobbles, but the gymnasts who competed in the event said they noticed something unusual during the competition.
The quiet.
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The unusually quiet arena may have played a factor in a shaky balance beam final for Simone Biles, Sunisa Lee and a handful of other event finalists Monday.
Biles, Lee, Brazil's Julia Soares and Romania's Sabrina Maneca-Voinea all fell during their routines inside Bercy Arena, where no music was played and some fans hushed others for making noise while the athletes were up. Italy's Alice D'Amato barely wobbled, by comparison, on her way to gold.
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“It was really weird and awkward,” said Biles, who finished fifth behind Lee. “We’ve asked several times if we can have some music, or some background noise. I’m not really sure what happened there, but yeah, not our favorite. None of us liked it.”
"It was too quiet. I could literally hear myself breathing," Lee told reporters after the event.
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International Gymnastics Federation senior communications manager Meike Behrensen said in an email to The Associated Press the decision was “part of the sport presentation plan at Paris 2024.”
There is typically a wall of sound at all times during meets that can serve essentially as background noise to the athletes, who like it because it in some way mimics the cacophony of a typical practice at their home gyms.
Music was played during qualifying, team finals and all-around finals for both the men and women during the Paris Games.
The atmosphere changed during individual event finals, when the music was shut off.
Nowhere was the silence that more noticeable than on beam, a four-inch wide piece of wood 4 feet off the ground that requires intense concentration.
While some in a crowd that included NFL great Tom Brady offered support during the routines, many also told others to quiet, making a typically boisterous atmosphere sound more like a golf tournament.
Lee and Biles, both of whom slipped at the end of their acrobatic series, couldn't help but notice. They commiserated afterward.
“The pressure was definitely on,” Lee said. “I don’t know if you could tell, but a lot of people were definitely feeling it. I think it was the crowd but also just knowing that we’re so close to being done and just adding that extra stress of wanting to end it off the right way.”
The 21-year-old six-time Olympic medalist joked she wondered if the sea of photographers a few feet away could hear her breathing.
“It adds to the stress, just because it’s like you, yes, you’re the only one up there," said Lee. "So I was feeling the pressure.”
