Simone Biles walked away from her final routine of the 2024 Paris Olympics with another medal in hand.
It may not have been the gold she was aiming for, but she still managed to complete an incredible feat to cap off her inspiring "redemption tour."
Biles landed a silver medal, just behind her biggest competitor Rebeca Andrade of Brazil. Fellow Team USA teammate Jordan Chiles took home the bronze following a shocking turn of events that saw an unexpected last-minute score change.
The woman who didn't think she'd even be here a couple of years ago will leave Paris — and perhaps her final Olympics — with three golds and a silver and something perhaps even more valuable: peace.
“I accomplished way more than my wildest dreams, not just at this Olympics, but in the sport,” the 11-time Olympic medalist said. “So I can’t be mad at the performances. ... Competing then walking away with four medals. I’m not mad about it.”
For a long time, the flipping is what separated Biles from everyone else. Her routines are packed with so much difficultly that a wobble here or a step out of bounds there ultimately hasn't mattered.
Paris 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics
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It did in what could be the final routine of her career. Bothered perhaps by a left calf injury she aggravated during qualifying last week, Biles wasn’t at her best during a 75-second set that features music from pop icons Taylor Swift and Beyonce and the hardest tumbling passes ever done by a woman.
Twice at the end of the passes that feature elements bearing her name in the sport's Code of Points, her feet landed on blue boundary, costing her valuable tenths and creating just enough room for Andrade's score of 14.166 to stand.
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When a 14.133 and the No. 2 — indicating she was still in second — flashed next to Biles' name, a packed arena that included NFL icon Tom Brady let out an “ooohhhhh” of surprise.
Biles was not one of them.
“I’m not very upset or anything about my performance at the Olympics,” she said. “I'm happy, proud and even more excited that it’s over.”
Whether it's fully over, she's not saying. Though Chiles may have offered a hint as they talked to reporters afterward, with Chiles leaning over and saying under her breath “I'm going to miss you man.”
