Gymnastics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's balance beam

Last updated

Contents

Women's balance beam
at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad
Gymnastics (artistic) pictogram.svg
Olympic artistic gymnastics
Venue Ariake Gymnastics Centre
Dates25 July 2021 (qualifying)
3 August 2021 (final)
Competitors8 from 6 nations
Winning score14.633 points
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Guan Chenchen Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China
Silver medal icon.svg Tang Xijing Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China
Bronze medal icon.svg Simone Biles Flag of the United States.svg  United States
←  2016
2024  →

The women's balance beam event at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held on 25 July and 3 August 2021 at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre. [1] Approximately 90 gymnasts from 53 nations (of the 98 total gymnasts) are expected to compete on the balance beam in the qualifying round. [2]

Guan Chenchen and Tang Xijing of China won the gold and silver medals, respectively, both earning their first Olympic medals. Simone Biles of the United States, performing a scaled-down routine, repeated her bronze medal performance from 2016 for her seventh Olympic medal. Biles' 32 combined World and Olympic medals tied her with Larisa Latynina of the Soviet Union as the most decorated female gymnasts of all time. It was Biles' only finals appearance after a week where she withdrew from all other events due to mental health concerns. The defending champion, Sanne Wevers, did not qualify for the event.

The medals for the competition were presented by Anita L. Defrantz, United States; IOC Vice-president, and the medalists' bouquets were presented by Vasily Titov, Russia; FIG Vice-president.

Background

This was the 19th appearance of the event, after making its debut at the 1952 Summer Olympics. Defending champion Sanne Wevers of the Netherlands did not qualify to the final; she was instead the third reserve. [3] Simone Biles of the United States, the defending bronze medalist, made her only finals appearance of the Olympics following withdrawals from the team final, the individual all-around final, the vault, uneven bars, and floor event finals due to mental health concerns. [4]

Qualification

A National Olympic Committee (NOC) could enter up to 6 qualified gymnasts: a team of 4 and up to 2 specialists. A total of 98 quota places are allocated to women's gymnastics.

The 12 teams that qualify will be able to send 4 gymnasts in the team competition, for a total of 48 of the 98 quota places. The top three teams at the 2018 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships (the United States, Russia, and China) and the top nine teams (excluding those already qualified) at the 2019 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships (France, Canada, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Japan, and Spain) earned team qualification places.

The remaining 50 quota places are awarded individually. Each gymnast can only earn one place, except that gymnasts that competed with a team that qualified are eligible to earn a second place through the 2020 All Around World Cup Series. Some of the individual events are open to gymnasts from NOCs with qualified teams, while others are not. These places are filled through various criteria based on the 2019 World Championships, the 2020 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup series, continental championships, a host guarantee, and a Tripartite Commission invitation.

Each of the 98 qualified gymnasts are eligible for the balance beam competition, but many gymnasts do not compete in each of the apparatus events.

The COVID-19 pandemic delayed many of the events for qualifying for gymnastics. The 2018 and 2019 World Championships were completed on time, but many of the World Cup series events were delayed into 2021.

Competition format

The top 8 qualifiers in the qualification phase (limit two per NOC) advance to the apparatus final. The finalists performed on the balance beam again. Qualification scores were then ignored, with only final round scores counting.

Schedule

The competition will be held over two days, 25 July and 3 August. The qualifying round (for all women's gymnastics events) was the first day; the balance beam final is on the third and final day of individual event finals. [1]

DateTimeRoundSubdivision
25 July10:00QualificationSubdivision 1
11:50Subdivision 2
15:10Subdivision 3
17:05Subdivision 4
20:20Subdivision 5
3 August17:50Final–
All times are local time (UTC+09:00).

Results

Qualifying

RankGymnastD ScoreE ScorePen.TotalResults
1Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Guan Chenchen  (CHN)6.98.03314.933Q
2Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Tang Xijing  (CHN)6.28.13314.333Q
3Flag of the United States.svg  Sunisa Lee  (USA)6.28.00014.200Q
4Flag of Romania.svg  Larisa Iordache  (ROU)6.27.93314.133Q W [5]
5Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Lu Yufei  (CHN)6.08.10014.100–
6Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Ellie Black  (CAN)6.37.80014.100Q
7Flag of the United States.svg  Simone Biles  (USA)6.57.56614.066Q
8Russian Olympic Committee flag.png  Vladislava Urazova  (ROC)5.88.20014.000Q
9Flag of Brazil.svg  Flávia Saraiva  (BRA)5.98.06613.966Q
10Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Zhang Jin  (CHN)6.07.96613.966–
11Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Ou Yushan  (CHN)5.98.03313.933–
12Flag of Japan.svg  Urara Ashikawa  (JPN)5.98.00013.900R1 S
13Russian Olympic Committee flag.png  Viktoria Listunova  (ROC)5.68.26613.866R2
14Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Sanne Wevers  (NED)5.88.06613.866R3
Reserves

The reserves for the women's balance beam final were:

  1. Flag of Japan.svg  Urara Ashikawa  (JPN) – called up after Larisa Iordache's withdrawal [5]
  2. Russian Olympic Committee flag.png  Viktoria Listunova  (ROC)
  3. Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Sanne Wevers  (NED)

Only two gymnasts from each country may advance to the event final. Gymnasts who did not qualify for the final because of the quota, but had high enough scores to do so were:

Final

RankGymnastD ScoreE ScorePen.Total
Gold medal icon.svgFlag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Guan Chenchen  (CHN)6.68.03314.633
Silver medal icon.svgFlag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Tang Xijing  (CHN)6.08.23314.233
Bronze medal icon.svgFlag of the United States.svg  Simone Biles  (USA)6.17.90014.000
4Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Ellie Black  (CAN)6.27.66613.866
5Flag of the United States.svg  Sunisa Lee  (USA)6.47.46613.866
6Flag of Japan.svg  Urara Ashikawa  (JPN)5.97.83313.733
7Flag of Brazil.svg  Flávia Saraiva  (BRA)5.77.43313.133
8Russian Olympic Committee flag.png  Vladislava Urazova  (ROC)5.07.73312.733

Fourth- and fifth-place finishers Ellie Black and Sunisa Lee, respectively, finished with identical scores of 13.866. According the FIG's tie-breaking procedure, Black earned the higher placement due to higher E-score (7.666 vs 7.466).

[6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larisa Iordache</span> Romanian artistic gymnast

Larisa Andreea Iordache is a Romanian former artistic gymnast. She represented Romania at the 2012 Olympic Games, winning a bronze medal with the team, and at the 2020 Olympic Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diana Bulimar</span> Romanian artistic gymnast

Diana Laura Bulimar is a Romanian artistic gymnast and a 2-time European Champion with Romania. She was part of the Romanian team at the 2012 Summer Olympics that won the bronze medal.

Teramoto Asuka is a Japanese gymnast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simone Biles</span> American artistic gymnast (born 1997)

Simone Arianne Biles Owens is an American artistic gymnast. Her 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals make her the most decorated gymnast in history, and she is widely considered to be one of the greatest gymnasts and Olympians of all time. With 11 Olympic medals, she is tied with Věra Čáslavská as the second-most decorated female Olympic gymnast, and has the most Olympic medals earned by a U.S. gymnast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rebeca Andrade</span> Brazilian artistic gymnast (born 1999)

Rebeca Rodrigues de Andrade is a Brazilian artistic gymnast. Having won a total of six Olympic and nine World medals, she is the most decorated Brazilian and Latin American gymnast of all time, as well as the most decorated Brazilian Olympian in any discipline. In the all-around, she is the 2022 World champion, a two-time Olympic silver medalist, the 2023 World silver medalist, and the 2021 Pan American champion. On vault, she is the 2020 Olympic gold medalist, the 2024 Olympic silver medalist, a two-time World Champion, and the 2023 Pan American Games champion. She led the Brazilian team to its first ever team medals at the 2023 World Championships (silver) and the 2024 Olympics (bronze), as well as the gold medal at the 2021 Pan American Championships. She won the gold medal at the 2024 Olympics in the floor exercise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships</span> Gymnastics competition

The 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships was the 46th edition of the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships. The competition was held from 23 October – 1 November 2015 at The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, United Kingdom, and is the first time that Scotland hosted the event. The competition served as a qualification for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanne Wevers</span> Dutch artistic gymnast (born 1991)

Sanne Wevers is a Dutch artistic gymnast. She is the 2016 Olympic champion on the balance beam and was the first Dutch female gymnast to become an Olympic champion in an individual event. She is the 2018 and 2023 European champion on the balance beam. She is also the 2015 World and 2021 European silver medalist on the balance beam and the 2015 European bronze medalist on the uneven bars. She was a member of the Dutch team that won the bronze medal at the 2018 and 2023 European Championships.

Lieke Wevers is a Dutch artistic gymnast. She was the first Dutch woman to win a European title in gymnastics: at the 2015 European Games, she won the gold medal on the balance beam and was the bronze medalist with the Dutch team, in the individual all-around, and on floor exercise. She competed at the 2016, 2020, and 2024 Summer Olympics, qualifiying for the all-around finals in 2020.

The women's balance beam competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics was held at the HSBC Arena on 15 August.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pauline Schäfer</span> German artistic gymnast

Pauline Sieglinde Schäfer-Betz or Pauline Schäfer is a German artistic gymnast who represented Germany at the 2016, 2020, and 2024 Summer Olympics. She is the 2017 World Champion, the 2021 World silver medalist, and the 2015 World bronze medalist on the balance beam. She was part of the bronze medal-winning German team at the 2022 European Championships.

Qualification for women's artistic gymnastics competitions at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre on 25 July 2021. The results of the qualification determined the qualifiers to the finals: 8 teams in the team final, 24 gymnasts in the individual all-around final, and 8 gymnasts in each of 4 apparatus finals. The competition was divided into five subdivisions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Final Five (gymnastics)</span> 2016 US Olympic gymnastics team

The Final Five was the United States women's team in artistic gymnastics that won the team event at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. It was the United States' third gold medal in the event after 2012 and 1996. The five members of the team were Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Laurie Hernandez, Madison Kocian, and Aly Raisman, with MyKayla Skinner, Ragan Smith, and Ashton Locklear serving as the three alternates. After the team event, Biles won a gold medal in the individual all-around event, the vault, and on floor exercise and won a bronze on the balance beam, while Raisman won silver medals in the individual all-around, and on the floor exercise, where she was the defending champion, Hernandez won silver on the balance beam, and Kocian won a silver in the uneven bars. As of 2024, the Final Five is the most decorated American Olympic gymnastics team with nine medals total.

The women's artistic individual all-around event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo was held at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre on 29 July 2021. Approximately 80 gymnasts from 49 nations competed in the all-around in the qualifying round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gymnastics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's vault</span> Olympic gymnastics event

The women's vault event at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held on 25 July and 1 August 2021 at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre. Unlike the other apparatus events, vault requires gymnasts to perform two exercises in order for results to count towards the vault final; most of the gymnasts perform only one or none. Approximately 20 gymnasts from 15 nations competed two vaults in the qualifying round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gymnastics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's floor</span> Olympic gymnastics event

The women's floor event at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held on 25 July and 2 August 2021 at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre. Approximately 85 gymnasts from 53 nations competed on floor in the qualifying round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gymnastics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's uneven bars</span> Olympic gymnastics event

The women's uneven bars event at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held on 25 July and 1 August 2021 at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre. Approximately 90 gymnasts from 53 nations competed on the uneven bars in the qualifying round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gymnastics at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Women's artistic individual all-around</span>

The women's artistic individual all-around event at the 2024 Summer Olympics was scheduled to take place on 28 July and 1 August 2024 at the Accor Arena. 60 gymnasts from 32 nations competed in the all-around in the qualifying round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gymnastics at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Women's floor</span>

The women's floor event at the 2024 Summer Olympics was held on 28 July and 5 August 2024 at the Accor Arena. 76 gymnasts from 33 nations competed on floor in the qualifying round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gymnastics at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Women's uneven bars</span>

The women's uneven bars event at the 2024 Summer Olympics was held on 28 July and 4 August 2024 at the Accor Arena. 80 gymnasts from 35 nations competed on uneven bars in the qualifying round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gymnastics at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Women's balance beam</span>

The women's balance beam event at the 2024 Summer Olympics was held 28 July and 5 August 2024 at the Accor Arena. 78 gymnasts from 35 nations competed on balance beam in the qualifying round.

References

  1. 1 2 "Artistic Gymnastics Competition Schedule". Tokyo 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  2. ↑ "Qualification System – Games of the XXXII Olympiad – Artistic Gymnastics" (PDF). International Gymnastics Federation . Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  3. ↑ "Titelverdedigster Sanne Wevers mist balkfinale, geen finaleplaatsen turnsters" [Title defender Sanne Wevers misses beam final, no final places for the gymnasts]. NOS (in Dutch). 25 July 2021.
  4. ↑ Graves, Will (2 August 2021). "American star Simone Biles to return for balance beam finals". Associated Press .
  5. 1 2 Lazăr, Mihnea (3 August 2021). "Larisa Iordache s-a retras din finala de la bârnă la Jocurile Olimpice Tokyo 2020" [Larisa Iordache retired from the beam final at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics]. Digi24 (in Romanian).
  6. ↑ "Artistic Gymnastics: Women's Balance Beam Final – Results" (PDF). International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.