Alice D’Amato crowned Olympic Champion on beam

On the third and final day of apparatus finals in Artistic Gymnastics, the Bercy Arena witnessed more record-breaking, history-making performances.

Alice D’Amato held her nerves under control in a balance beam final that saw many favourites struggle. The Italian star stayed calm and composed to score 14.366, en route to the gold medal! This is the first time an Italian gymnast clinches the Olympic title. D’Amato writes her name in the history books yet again:

Joining D’Amato on the podium, Zhou Yaqin of China grabbed the silver medal while D’Amato’s training partner and friend Manila Esposito, the reigning European Champion on this apparatus secured the bronze medal. Such a pleasure to see both Italian gymnasts celebrating their success together.

Drama on floor for the Romanian duo Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea. Both gymnasts performed well, scoring 13.766. Based on the higher execution score, Barbosu placed ahead of her teammate. For a brief moment, Barbosu celebrated her third place until the last performer, Jordan Chiles (USA), submitted an inquiry that was accepted. Bronze for Chiles, 4^th and 5^th place for the Romanians, a mere 0,066 behind. Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade claimed the gold, becoming Brazil’s most decorated Olympian, ahead of USA superstar Simone Biles.

There was no containing Zou Jingyuan on parallel bars. The defending Olympic Champion easily retained his title, showcasing superb difficulty of 6.9 executed in his well-known divine style. Earning an excellent 9.300 in execution, Zou held off a strong challenge by European Champion Illia Kovtun who was delighted to clinch the silver medal for Ukraine, after finishing fourth in the all-around.  

 

Results

Parallel Bars

GOLD Zou Jingyuan (CHN) 16.200

SILVER Illia Kovtun (UKR) 15.500

BRONZE Oka Shinnosuke (JAP) 15.300

 

Balance Beam

GOLD Alice D’Amato (ITA) 14.366

SILVER Zhou Yaqin (CHN) 14.100

BRONZE Manila Esposito (ITA) 14.000

 

Horizontal Bar

GOLD Oka Shinnosuke (JAP) 14.533

SILVER Angel Barajas (COL) 14.533

BRONZE Zhang Boheng (CHN) 13.66

BRONZE Tang Chia-Hung (TPE) 13.966

 

Floor

GOLD Rebeca Andrade (BRA) 14.166

SILVER Simone Biles (USA) 14.133

BRONZE Jordan Chiles (USA) 13.766

 

Find the full results on the FIG website: FIG LIVE - Schedule (gymnastics.sport)

This concludes the Artistic Gymnastics competition at these Olympic Games. The torch is passed to Rhythmic Gymnastics which will be held from 8 to 10 August in the Porte de la Chapelle Arena.