2024 Paris Olympics Day 10 recap: Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles medal again, as does USA women’s 3×3 basketball

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If possible, Simone Biles (along with teammate Jordan Chiles) became even more legendary during Monday’s action in Paris despite not winning a gold medal. The U.S. also won medals in track and field and women’s 3×3 basketball, while another pair in men’s beach volleyball advanced to the quarterfinals of the Olympic tournament. Unfortunately, on the women’s side, Team USA suffered an unexpected defeat.

Here are the five biggest stories of the day:

Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles win medals in the floor exercise final

Team USA took home two more medals in women’s gymnastics on Monday in the individual all-around floor exercise final. Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles both finished on the podium, but there were some dramatic moments that led to Biles unexpectedly finishing with silver and Chiles catapulting into bronze at the last moment.

Biles was surprisingly edged out in the tumbling event by Brazilian gymnastics legend Rebeca Andrade. Biles’ routine was as exciting as ever, but stepping out of bounds with both feet on her final tumbling pass (as well as a few other small deductions) cost her. Andrade didn’t step out of bounds even once in her high-difficulty routine, and that ended up being the difference. Andrade took home the gold with a 14.166, and Biles settled for silver with a 14.133.

As unexpected as Biles’ result was, the biggest drama came not from Andrade’s gold or Biles’ silver, but from the bronze medal. Chiles, the last gymnast to compete, initially scored 13.666, which put her in fourth place behind Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu, with 13.700.

But Chiles’ coaches submitted a request for scoring for one skill, the tour jete, immediately after her initial score was revealed. They judged she had executed the skill correctly and completely during her routine. After review, the judges improved her score by a full tenth, awarding her a 13.766 and a surprise bronze medal.

U.S. Women’s 3×3 Team Rallies to Take Bronze

While it was a rough start for the U.S. women’s 3×3 team at the Paris Olympics (three straight losses to start the group stage), they were able to finish their Games on a high note, earning a bronze medal with a 16-13 win over Canada on Monday.

Earlier in the day, the team, consisting of Dearica Hamby, Cierra Burdick, Rhyne Howard and Hailey Van Lith, lost their semifinal match against Spain in overtime, but were able to bounce back for the bronze medal match just hours later.

“It was a roller coaster of emotions,” Burdick said after the game. “Obviously, you’re very, very down after that game against Spain, and it took a lot of mental strength to have short-term memory, bounce back and be able to pull off this win. So I’m grateful to come home with a trophy.”

Americans Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth miss out on women’s beach volleyball quarterfinals; Miles Partain and Andy Benesh advance

Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth will not join Sara Hughes and Kelly Cheng in the women’s beach volleyball quarterfinals.

The American pair lost in straight sets to Canadians Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson, 21-19, 21-18. Nuss and Kloth, ranked second in the world, rallied from a 10-5 deficit in the second set but ultimately could not overcome Canada’s solid defense and pulled off an upset.

The Americans will also have a pair in the men’s quarterfinals. Miles Partain and Andrew Benesh are into the knockout round after defeating Italy’s Samuele Cottafava and Paolo Nicolai in straight sets, 21-17, 21-18. They controlled both sets from the start, building five-point leads that Italy could not recover from.

Partain and Benesh advance to the quarterfinals after U.S. teammates Chase Budinger and Miles Evans lost to Norway’s Anders Mol and Christian Sorum in the round of 16. The two have won two straight matches since parting ways with coach Mike Placek during the Olympic tournament.

Valarie Allman wins gold for the United States in discus throw

The United States continues to add to its medal haul in athletics. Valarie Allman won gold in the discus for the second year in a row at the Summer Olympics, dominating the discipline with her throws. She failed to clear 70 metres, despite holding the American record of 71.46 m.

However, she had plenty to beat the competition. Her winning throw of 69.50 metres was almost two metres longer than China’s Bin Feng’s second-place finish. Even her second-best throw of 68.74 metres would have been enough to win.

Allman grew up wanting to be a dancer and excelled in ballet, tap, jazz and hip-hop. However, she was persuaded to try discus in high school and agreed to forgo all other track events she attempted. That decision paid off beautifully.

With her first-place finish in Paris, Allman became only the fourth woman to win two Olympic discus gold medals, adding to the gold she won at the Tokyo Games.

Sam Kendricks bounces back from Tokyo disappointment

American pole vaulter Sam Kendricks won a silver medal on Monday, completing an arc that began in disappointment and ended in triumph.

Kendricks was barred from competing at the Tokyo Games after testing positive for COVID-19. He maintains the test was a false positive because he showed no symptoms. However, he was forced to quarantine instead of going to Tokyo.

The experience soured Hendricks to the point that she initially felt she did not want to compete in Paris, even if she qualified. However, she changed that stance after her performance at the U.S. Olympic trials.

Hendricks cleared the first three heights without fail on Monday night and eventually jumped 5.95 meters to earn a place on the medal podium. He couldn’t catch Sweden’s Armand Duplantis, who jumped 6.25 to earn gold. But it was enough to finish second and earn some redemption after the disappointment of 2021.

Team USA Medals

Highlights of the day

If Simone Biles was disappointed to have taken the silver medal over Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, she and American teammate Jordan Chiles certainly didn’t show it. Instead, they both celebrated their fellow competitor and rival on the medal podium.

Chiles and Biles bowed to Andrade, acknowledging her achievement and continued greatness in the sport. It was a wonderful display of sportsmanship and respect.

“Rebecca is amazing,” Biles said. “She’s the queen… It was the right thing to do.”

One more thing …

How iconic has Turkish pistol shooter Yusuf Dikeç become? The silver medallist in the mixed team 10m air pistol competition became an internet sensation not only for his glasses, but for a shooting pose with his left hand in his pocket that looked like the portrait of a cool sportsman.

Dikeç looked so imposing that Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis emulated his pose after one of his jumps on his way to winning a gold medal and setting a world record on Monday.

Unwittingly, Dikeç may have become the new Usain Bolt, whose bow-and-arrow pose became iconic after his gold medal victories in Beijing, London and Rio.