Simone Biles had a miserable day at the Olympics on Monday, failing to add to her gold medal haul and criticizing gymnastics fans in Paris.
The 27-year-old American star only won a silver medal on the floor after injuring her leg during the warm-up.
Biles surprisingly finished fifth on the balance beam on her final day of competition after falling from the beam in front of a shocked crowd that included NFL legend Tom Brady.
Biles, who had already won gold medals in the team competition, the all-around competition and the vault in the French capital, was in great demand to extend her honorary title.
She failed to do so on the beam, but many expected her to win gold on the floor, one of her strongest disciplines.
Simone Biles appeared to have pulled her calf muscle during her warm-up for Monday’s floor final
Biles fell during her floor exercise warm-up, aggravating a calf problem
Biles could only take silver on the floor, finishing behind Brazilian rival Rebeca Andrade
But during warm-up, Biles slipped after landing and appeared to aggravate a calf injury she had been struggling with during the Olympics.
She has been struggling with a calf injury since the qualifying matches for the women’s team final last week.
However, she didn’t experience any problems until Monday during the competition, when the American had to strap her leg down with a grimace on her face by the Team USA medical team.
Biles was able to smile for the TV cameras before the match, but also appeared to be limping as she tried to overcome the injury.
Biles managed a score of 14.133, which was not enough to dethrone her Brazilian rival Rebeca Andrade, who took gold with 14.166. American Jordan Chiles took bronze after her score was raised following an appeal.
The silver medal puts Biles in second place with Czechoslovakia’s Vera Caslavska among the most medal-winning female gymnasts in Olympic history, trailing only former Soviet star Larisa Latynina with 18 medals.
Later in the day, Biles recovered from a slip during her warm-up to win silver in the floor final
Teammate Jordan Chiles (right) was in tears after winning the bronze in dramatic scenes
Earlier on Monday, she had another chance to jump on the balance beam, but Biles fell hard and finished fifth.
Wearing a blue-and-white leotard with more than 5,000 crystals, Biles was halfway through her set when she lost her balance.
She jumped from the beam onto the mat, as thousands of people in the packed Bercy Arena let out an audible scream.
She was furious and the audience was afraid she would go “silent” during her balance beam routine.
Biles’ American teammate Suni Lee, who suffered an even more disastrous fall when she flew off the beam at the end of her routine, said they were both taken aback by the “tense” atmosphere.
Lee claims that while the athletes were cheering on their teammates, they were met with “shushing” noises on the sidelines, with the crowd urging them to be quiet.
“You could feel the tension in the room. I mean, the crowd hushing us for the cheers,” the 21-year-old said after achieving the same score of 13.100.
Simone Biles angered Olympic fans after she called ‘silence’ during her beam routine
Biles had to step off the beam after losing her balance midway through her routine
“We didn’t like that, just because it’s so quiet there. I love hearing my teammates cheering for me.”
Lee recalled that Biles was furious when her routine ended. “Simone and I were like, ‘Why are they silencing?’ We’re just trying to cheer.
‘But yeah, [Biles] came out and she was like, ‘I don’t know why they were silent during my routine.’
As the television cameras panned her after her performance, Biles appeared to ask her coach why the fans in the room were so quiet.
Lee described the atmosphere at the Bercy Arena as eerily quiet, which she believes contributed to the mistakes they made that day.
“I think it was the pressure, the atmosphere,” she continued. “It was really quiet when you were up there.
“I could literally hear myself breathing.”