Netherlands’ Sanne Wevers upsets US gymnast Simone Biles, wins gold on balance beam

REUTERS

9 years ago

2016 Rio Olympics – Artistic Gymnastics – Final – Women’s Balance Beam Final – Rio Olympic Arena – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 15/08/2016. Sanne Wevers (NED) of Netherlands reacts to winning the gold. (Mike Blake/Reuters)

2016 Rio Olympics – Artistic Gymnastics – Victory Ceremony – Women’s Balance Beam Victory Ceremony – Rio Olympic Arena – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 15/08/2016. Sanne Wevers (NED) of Netherlands reacts after winning the gold. (Ruben Sprich/Reuters)

2016 Rio Olympics – Artistic Gymnastics – Victory Ceremony – Women’s Balance Beam Victory Ceremony – Rio Olympic Arena – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 15/08/2016. Gold medallist Sanne Wevers (NED) of Netherlands (C), silver medallist Laurie Hernandez (USA) of USA (R) and bronze medallist Simone Biles (USA) of USA pose on the podium. (Marko Djurica/Reuters)

2016 Rio Olympics – Artistic Gymnastics – Victory Ceremony – Women’s Balance Beam Victory Ceremony – Rio Olympic Arena – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 15/08/2016. Sanne Wevers (NED) of Netherlands poses with her gold medal on the podium. (Marko Djurica/Reuters)

RIO DE JANEIRO — Dutchwoman Sanne Wevers caused a huge upset when she ruined Simone Biles’ chances of scooping a record five golds at a single Olympics by winning the balance beam title in Rio on Monday.

The American had been expected to add the beam title to her team, all around and vault triumphs but drew gasps as she lost her footing following a front somersault and had to grab the beam with both hands to save herself from falling off.

Her score of 14.733 was only good enough for bronze behind team mate Laurie Hernandez.

Biles’ misfortune allowed Wevers to become the first female Dutch gymnast to grab gold in an individual final, with a graceful routine featuring numerous spins, including a triple. She scored 15.466.

The Netherlands only previous top prize for the women had been in the team competition in 1928.

Biles, a double world champion on the beam, will be back on Tuesday when she will be favorite to win the floor exercise.