Simone Biles angered Olympic fans when she went “silent” during her balance beam routine on Monday after a rare mistake cost her a medal.
Biles failed to reach the podium for the first time this summer at the Olympic Games in Paris after she briefly lost her balance and had to step off the beam.
This prevented the American gymnastics legend from adding to her total of three gold medals, despite a disappointing score of 13.100.
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 in the Bercy Arena.
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.
Simone Biles angered Olympic fans after she called ‘silence’ during her beam routine
“You could feel the tension in the room. I mean, the audience hushing us because we were cheering,” the 21-year-old said after her own failed routine.
“We didn’t like that, just because it’s so quiet there. I love hearing my teammates cheering for me.
‘Simone and I were like, “Why are they quiet?” 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 turned to her after practice, Biles appeared to ask her coach why the fans were silent halfway through.
Lee described the atmosphere at the Bercy Arena as eerily quiet, which she believes contributed to the mistakes they made that day.
