• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup

2

The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion,but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting

3

Markets tumble worldwide as Fed resets expectations: $400 billion wiped off SpaceX stock

1

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup

2

The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion,but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting

3

Markets tumble worldwide as Fed resets expectations: $400 billion wiped off SpaceX stock

An Unexpected Winner in Olympics Beam Final as Biles Slips to Bronze

By
Brian Cazeneuve
Brian Cazeneuve
,
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
, and
Michelle Toh
Michelle Toh
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Brian Cazeneuve
Brian Cazeneuve
,
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
, and
Michelle Toh
Michelle Toh
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 15, 2016, 11:38 PM ET
GYMNASTICS-OLY-2016-RIO-PODIUM
Gold medallist Netherlands' Sanne Wevers poses on the podium of the women's balance beam event final of the Artistic Gymnastics at the Olympic Arena during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on August 15, 2016. / AFP / Thomas COEX (Photo credit should read THOMAS COEX/AFP/Getty Images)THOMAS COEX/ AFP/ Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

This article originally appeared on SI.com.

Monday’s gymnastics apparatus finals revealed that Simone Biles is, in fact, human, Laurie Hernandez is a star-in-waiting, and the balance beam, gymnastics’ answer to mother nature, can spoil any of the best laid plans.

Biles’s gold-medal run paused at three on Monday, though she captured her fourth Olympic medal, taking bronze on the beam after nearly toppling off. Teammate Hernandez performed a strong, clean routine, good enough to pull in a silver, and Dutchwoman Sanne Wevers won gold with routine that stood out with a sharp contrast in styles to the others.

See also: How U.S. Women Gymnasts Became the World’s Best

Aside from the stumble, Biles was otherwise clean on her routine, executing an acrobatic sequence—flip-flop, layout, layout—with no problem. Then, when executing a front tucked somersault, an element that is usually a snap for her, she landed low, caught her heel and appeared set to come off the beam. She grabbed it with both hands to keep herself aboard, but still took a major deduction similar to a fall. Biles finished with a high difficulty score, 6.5, but still took third because of lower execution.

“I’m mad at myself,” Biles said. “It was still a good routine. I still got a medal, but it isn’t a skill I usually mess up.”

In fact, Biles has rarely messed up anything during a brilliant competition that brought her golds in the team competition, all-around and vault on three different days. She became just the second woman since 1960 to win golds in all three phases of the same Olympic gymnastics competition. She will compete in the floor exercise final, along with teammate Aly Raisman, on Tuesday and will enter as the prohibitive favorite.

See also: U.S. Gymnast Simone Biles Adds Third Gold to Rio Haul

“Simone is also a human being like all of us,” said U.S. program director Martha Karolyi. “We like to say she’s super human. She can make a mistake, too, especially on the beam, which is the most unforgiving of any mistake that you make. It might be one slight lack of concentration over a long week with many routines and that one second is enough.”

Hernandez’s performance was a sort of coming out party for her on the international scene. The bubbly 16-year old finished second to Biles at the U.S. trials, but was kept out of the all-around earlier this week because only four of the five U.S. gymnasts could compete in qualifying on bars. Biles and Raisman were sure to be two of them, as was bars specialist Madison Kocian. Gabby Douglas was picked to the team mainly for her ability to do bars. That left Hernandez as a spectator for the all-around competition.

But on beam, she showed off the spunk and confidence that has earned her a devoted following in the sport in a short time. She was fearless during her acrobatic series, landed her dismount and waited to see if her more dynamic routine would outscore Wevers’s more elegant one. In the end, the judges awarded Wevers 15.466 to 15.333 for Hernandez. Biles was a distant third with 14.733.

See also: This University’s Athletes Are Dominating the U.S. Olympic Team

“I don’t ever really think of falling off,” Hernandez says. “You can do the same skills on a floor, right?” Hernandez’s teammates often tease her because she instinctively walks along curbs, about the same four-inch width as the balance beam even when they walk along wide streets. “I don’t even know I’m doing it,” she says. “It’s a funny habit I’ve had.” There was no reason to break this one.

Now Hernandez is done in Rio, but she certainly has her best gymnastics ahead of her. Along with 16-year-old Ragan Smith, one of the alternates on the Rio team, she will be primed to lead the next generation of gymnasts should Biles choose to retire, a decision that is up in the air. Either way, Karolyi, who has announced her retirement after the Rio Games, sounded confident about Hernandez’s future.

See also: What Michael Phelps Could Do After Retirement

“Laurie has proven a lot in her first year as a senior,” Karolyi said. “Can you do it on the world stage? Now we know the answer is yes, and that is very exciting.”

Wevers was an unexpected winner. Ten years after making her first appearance at the European Championships, the 24-year-old Dutchwoman performed a routine that was short on acrobatic skills, but big on pirouettes, a skill that Wevers is known for. She pulled off a triple turn without a hint of hesitation early in the routine and later added a turn that reversed fields and headed back in the other direction.

She and her twin sister, Lieke, a teammate on the Dutch squad for several years, are known as for the particular attribute that earned Sanne a silver medal at worlds last year and a gold medal in Rio. At the European Games in Baku last summer, it was Lieke who walked away with the title.

See also: Usain Bolt Still the World’s Fastest Man After Winning Men’s 100m

“It’s many years hoping for one great moment,” Sanne said. “I am still in disbelief. I am still shaking.”

In two other events on Tuesday, North Korea’s Ri Se-gwang won the vault competition and Greece’s Eleftherios Petrounias, took the rings event. Both gymnasts entered their specialty events as defending world champions. No U.S. gymnasts qualified for the eight-man final on either apparatus.

About the Authors
By Brian Cazeneuve
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By Sports Illustrated
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By Michelle Toh
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in

Taktile cofounders Maik Taro Wehmeyer (left) and Maximilian Eber (right) stand side by side, smiling at the camera.
Startups & VentureVenture Capital
Exclusive: Taktile raises $110 million from Goldman Sachs, Tiger Global to automate high-stakes financial decisions 
By Camila Grigera NaónJune 24, 2026
1 hour ago
price-of-oil-06-23-2026
Personal FinanceOil
Current price of oil as of June 24, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 24, 2026
1 hour ago
Sarah Youngwood, EVP and CFO at Nasdaq.
AICFO Daily
Nasdaq’s CFO says leaders must learn AI—not just their teams
By Sheryl EstradaJune 24, 2026
1 hour ago
Current price of silver as of Wednesday, June 24, 2026
Personal Financesilver
Current price of silver as of Wednesday, June 24, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 24, 2026
1 hour ago
steve
Commentary250 Years of Innovation
Steve Case: America was built by entrepreneurs. Here’s how we keep that edge for the next 250 years
By Steve CaseJune 24, 2026
2 hours ago
(left to right) Andrew Berman, Tal Peretz, and Vitor Balocco
AIVenture Capital
Exclusive: Vinod Khosla wanted ‘every available dollar’ of Runlayer’s funding round. It just raised $30 million to govern the agent workforce
By Lily Mae LazarusJune 24, 2026
2 hours ago

Most Popular

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
Success
After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion,but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting
Economy
The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion,but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting
By Jacqueline MunisJune 24, 2026
7 hours ago
Markets tumble worldwide as Fed resets expectations: $400 billion wiped off SpaceX stock
Banking
Markets tumble worldwide as Fed resets expectations: $400 billion wiped off SpaceX stock
By Jim EdwardsJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
Texas and Charlotte used to build huge McMansions—now they're copying the California design tricks they once mocked
Real Estate
Texas and Charlotte used to build huge McMansions—now they're copying the California design tricks they once mocked
By Sydney LakeJune 22, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of gold as of June 23, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of June 23, 2026
By Danny BakstJune 23, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.