Gymnastics

Suni Lee Does Not Medal in Balance Beam

Lee finished the event with a score of 13.866, putting her in fifth place

TOKYO, JAPAN – AUGUST 03: Sunisa Lee of Team United States competes during the Women’s Balance Beam Final on day eleven of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Centre on August 03, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
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Suni Lee completed her final event of the Tokyo Olympics in less than stellar fashion, failing to medal in the balance beam.

The judges gave Lee a total score of 13.866, with a 6.400 on difficulty and 7.466 on execution. She ended the event in fifth place.

Lee had a couple of slip ups in her routine. She nearly fell off the beam at one point, wobbling to keep her balance but recovered to stay on. On her dismount, it wasn't a clean landing for Lee either.

Lee herself went to Twitter to express her disbelief in being able to stay on the beam.

It's also not the first time the world has seen an impressive Suni Lee save on the balance beams.

Lee first became known when she went viral for her jaw-dropping save at the 2018 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships.

In qualifiers, Lee finished with the third-best score, a 14.200. However, she failed to make the podium, as she ends the Tokyo Olympics with three medals. She previously took the gold in the individual all-around event, bronze in the uneven bars and was a part of the silver-winning squad in the team all-around event.

Despite the result, Lee's family was supporting her from afar in Saint Paul, Minnesota, like they have all Olympics long.

Lee's teammate Simone Biles, in her return since pulling out of the four previous gymnastic events due to the "twisties", came back to win the bronze medal in the balance beam with a score of 14.000.

China took the gold and silver in the event, with Guan Chenchen winning gold and Tang Xijing with the silver.

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