Turns out quiet makes Suni Lee feel off balance. The Team USA gymnast—who has won two bronze medals and one gold medal at the 2024 Olympics —shared what caused her and fellow teammate Simone Biles to fall off the balance beam during their Aug. 5 competition in Paris.
"It was really silent when you get up there," Suni told reporters after wards . "I don't like that just because it gives me too much time to think and I can hear everything." The mix of stress and quiet caused issues for the gymnasts, including Romania's Sabrina Voinea , who also fell.
"I like the cheering," the 21-year-old continued. "I don't like the silence. I don't like it.
I thrive off the crowd, so having the crowd's energy especially after you finish a routine is really helpful." Suni joked that she could "literally hear myself breathing," and was more stressed about the fact that "everybody could hear me breathing when I was up there." Simone doubled down on how the quiet impacted her.
"Beam final is always the most stressful," she told reporters via NBC News . "But usually, we have like music or background noise, whatever that may be." According to the 27-year-old, the gymnasts "do better in environments when there's noise going on because it feels most like practice.
" "It was really weird and awkward," she continued, "and we've asked several times if we could have some music or some background noise. So I am not really sure what happened there, but yeah, not our favorite. None of us liked it.
Yeah, it was an odd beam final." But not everyone had issues with the balance beam, as Team Italy's Alice D'Amato took home the gold while Zhou Yaqin of China earned silver and Italian gymnast Manila Esposito walked away with bronze. And luckily the Olympians are keeping a sense of humor about their falls, with Suni even playing into a TikTok trend and sharing a video of her mishap Aug.
6 with the caption, "unfortunately i was selected for the olympics." But Suni was feeling celebratory on Instagram, sharing several photos of her Olympics journey Aug. 5 and writing, "2x olympian, 6x olympic medalist.
" For more great moments from the 2024 Paris Olympics, keep reading. (E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.) Come On, Gold! Team USA's Sha'carri Richardson picked up her first gold in the women's 4x100-meter relay.
Royal Onlookers Ben-Sylvester Strautmann , Alexandra de Hanovre , Prince Albert of Monaco and Alain Bernard cheer while at the Men's Team Bronze medal match. Double the Fun Paulina Paszek and Jule Marie Hake of Team Germany celebrate earning third place in the Women's kayak double 500m final. A Queen Team USA's Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone celebrated after breaking her own record and winning gold in the women's 400m hurdles final.
Twisting Every Which Way Elzhana Taniyeva of Kazakhstan showed off her very impressive range at the rhythmic gymnastics Individual all round. Parisian Pride One fan really wanted everyone to know which country he was rooting for. Go, Dad, Go Bronny James cheered on father LeBron James as Team USA took on Serbia in the Men's basketball semifinals competition.
Quick Break Noah Lyles of Team USA needed a second after competing in the men's 200m final . Not the Face! Great Britain's Bradly Sinden tried to protect the goods during the Men's Taekwondo 68kg quarterfinals. Dance It Out Italy's Milena Baldassarri put on quite the show during the rhythmic gymnastics individual all-around competition.
Yee-Haw! Tara David-Woodhall pulled out the cowboy hat after winning gold in women's long jump competition. Flying Through the Air Team USA's Tom Schaar put on quite the aerial display while competing in the men's park skateboarding final. Go Team! USA's water polo team was full of excitement as they beat Australia and advanced to the semifinals.
Going for the Ball The game was heated as the USA took on Nigeria in the women's quarterfinal basketball match. One Final Hurdle Grant Holloway repped the USA after winning the gold medal in the Men's 110m hurdles final. Do You Even Lift? Venezuela's Katherin Echandia Zarate showed that she never skips arm day during the weightlifting competition.
An Unfortuante Spill Michelle Jenneke of Australia didn't quite clear her hurdle in her Women's 100m heat. Steep Competition In the women's steeplechase, Sembo Almayew of Ethiopia hits the water. Protective And Stylish Track cycling speed and pursuit day athletes looked futuristic in their helmets.
For The Win Team USA's Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone had a smile on her face after winning the gold medal in the Women's 400m hurdles final. A Trip to Sesame Street Elmo loves getting hugs from Simone Biles . Eyes In the Back of Their Heads Turns out Team France can see you from every angle during the artistic swimming competition.
All About That Popcorn Life Snoop Dogg was busy munching away as he caught the men’s basketball quarterfinals match between the USA and Brazil. Sealed With a Kiss The Netherlands Roy van den Berg celebrated his gold medal for cycling with his family. Handstand Team Mexico flew through the air as they competed in artistic swimming.
Put On A Happy Face Jamaica's Janieve Russell brought the good vibes while preparing for her 400m hurdle event. Next Goal Wins USA's Sophia Smith celebrated with her teammates after scoring a key goal in extra time during the women's semifinal match against Germany. Just Like Riding a Bike Team France proved participating in the Olympics isn't as simple as riding a bike as they competed in the men's team pursuit.
Raising the Bar Sweden's Armand Duplantis set a new world record in men's pole vault. A Historic Win Julien Alfred brought home Saint Lucia's first medal when she won the 100m..
