Alice D’Amato cried tears of happiness after an unexpected win.
The 21-year-old gymnast from Italy became the gold medal winner at the 2024 Paris Olympics individual balance beam final August 5 after American athletes Suni Lee and Simone Biles took uncharacteristic falls during their routines.
Suni performed first for the American delegation, during which she fell in the middle of her acrobatic series. The 21-year-old earned a 13.1—a score which was likely to keep her out of medal contention—and could be seen getting a hug from Simone following her performance.
In fact, despite looking frustrated after finishing her routine, Suni—who wasn’t even sure she’d be able to compete at this year’s Games due to her health battle—was soon smiling and laughing after speaking with her coach Jess Graba and Simone.
But while Suni was the first gymnast to fall during her final, she was not the last. Sabrina Voinea of Romania fell twice during her beam routine, followed by a fall from Simone.
At the end of the 27-year-old’s acrobatic series, she appeared to suffer a slip that carried her off the beam. Though she got back on and finished her routine, with falls resulting in a 0.5-point deduction, Simone could be seen shaking her head as she awaited her score.
She ultimately received a 13.1 for her performance.
Simone was the second-to-last athlete to perform, with Rebeca Andrade mounting the beam last. And while the powerhouse from the Brazilian delegation performed an impressive routine, it wasn’t enough to earn her a spot on the podium.
Alice ultimately took home gold with a score of 14.366, while Zhou Yaqin of China earned silver and Italian gymnast Manila Esposito walked away with bronze.
But while Simone didn’t medal in the beam final, she has one more opportunity to go for gold when she and teammate Jordan Chiles compete in the individual floor finals.
If she were to win the top spot, the recognized American GOAT would have earned her eighth gold and eleventh Olympic medal overall.
Already at Paris, Simone has earned golds in the team all-around, individual vault and individual all-around events.
Meanwhile, Alice has earned her second medal and first gold after at the 2024 Olympic Games her beam final.
For more emotional moments in Paris, keep reading.
Aug. 10: Sport Climbing
Gold medalist Janja Garnbret of Team Slovenia celebrates with silver medalist Brooke Raboutou of Team USA after they completed the women's Boulder & Lead final.
Aug. 9: Track & Field
First-time Olympian Sha'carri Richardson of Team USA looks on after winning her first Olympic gold medal by placing first in the women's 4x100m relay final.
Aug. 8: Track & Field
Team USA's Tara Davis-Woodhall embraces her husband and Paralympic athlete Hunter Woodhall after winning the women's long jump final.
Aug. 8: Canoe Sprint
Joan Antoni Moreno and Diego Dominguez of Team Spain yell in celebration after the men's canoe double 500m final.
Aug. 7: Marathon Race Walk Mixed Relay
Spain's Maria Perez and Alvaro Martin pop champagne to celebrate their gold medals.
Aug. 7: Cycling
Kelland O'Brien of Team Australia is emotional after his team, also including Sam Welsford, Conor Leahy and Oliver Bleddyn, won gold. The Austalian cyclists set a new world record with 3:40.730.
Aug. 6: Track & Field
TEAM USA's Gabby Thomas snaps a selfie with her partner Spencer McManes after winning gold in the women's 200m final.
Aug. 6: Track & Field
Cole Hocker of Team USA celebrates after winning the gold for the men's 1500m. Hocker won by .14 seconds.
Aug. 5: Pole Vault
Swedish athlete Armand Duplantis celebrates after setting a new world record in the men's pole vault.
Aug. 5: Badminton
An Se-young of Korea celebrates after defeating He Bingjiao of China 2-0 in their match.
Aug. 5: Surfing
Johanne Defay hugs Simon Paillard, her husband and coach, after winning bronze for France.
Aug. 5: Gymnastics
Simone Biles hugs an emotional Jordan Chiles after winning bronze for the women's floor routine final, marking Chiles' first individual Olympic medal.
Aug. 2: Gymnastics
Britain's Bryony Page is ecsatic after winning gold for the women's trampoline final in gymnastics.
Aug. 2: Fencing
Team Czechia's Michal Cupr, Jiri Beran, Jakub Jurka, Martin Rubes celebrate after defeating France for the men's bronze medal.
Aug. 1: Gymnastics
USA gymnast Simone Biles beams after winning gold in the women's all-around final, sporting her "GOAT" necklace.
Aug. 1: Tennis
Great Britain's Andy Murray—who announced his retirement before the Paris Games—tearfully bids farewell to the crowd after being eliminated alongside Dan Evans in the men's doubles.
Aug. 1: Table Tennis
Tomokazu Harimoto of Team Japan lets off some steam during his match against China's Fan Zhendong.
Aug. 1: Swimming
Men's 200m backstroke silver medalist Apostolos Christou of Greece gets emotional while standing on the podium.
Aug. 1: Tennis
Spanish tennis Carlos Alcaraz lets out a victorious scream after defeating Tommy Paul of Team USA in men's single.
July 31: Diving
Great Britain's bronze medalists Andrea Spendolini Sirieix and Lois Toulson share a raw moment after the women's synchronized 10m platform diving final.
July 31: Soccer
Korbin Albert gets emotional after scoring a goal in the women's soccer game.
July 31: Swimming
Team Sweden's Sarah Sjoestroem celebrates her gold medal in the Women's 100m Freestyle Final.
July 31: Swimming
Team USA's Katie Ledecky reacts to winning gold in the Women's 1500m Freestyle Final.
July 31: Swimming
French swimmer Anastasiia Kirpichnikova cries tears of joy after seeing her silver medal-winning time in women's 1500m freestyle event.
July 31: Judo
Serbia's Nemanja Majdov (L) and Greece's Theodoros Tselidis (R) share a moment after their round in the men's 90kg round of 16 in judo. Tselildis, who beat Majdov, later won the bronze medal.
July 31: Sabre
Manon Apithy-Brunet (L) kisses her husband France's Bolade Apithy after his team beat Egypt.
July 31: Triathalon
Gold medalist Alex Yee of Team Great Britain and silver medalist Hayden Wilde of Team New Zealand share a subtle celebratory moment after crossing the finish line.
July 31: Rugby
Team New Zealand leaps for joy after beating Canada in the Women's Rugby Sevens Gold medal match.
July 31: Field Hockey
Agustina Gorzelany of Team Argentina celebrates her team's first goal in a match against Spain. Argentina ended up winning the match 2-1.
July 31: Shooting
Team Guatemala's Adriana Ruano Oliva gets emotional after realizing she's won the gold medal—her country's very first—in the shooting trap women's final.