Olympics fans say the same thing after Simone Biles and Suni Lee both fall in balance beam final and miss out on medals in Paris

Some Olympic fans have taken a conspiratorial view of the balance beam final where four of the eight competitors – including Simone Biles and Suni Lee – fell during their routines. 

The event is known to be a precarious endeavour, as the gymnasts attempt to complete gravity defying feats while maintaining their balance on the beam suspended four feet in the air. 

On Monday, Biles missed out on her fourth Olympic gold medal in Paris after falling during final. There was also heartbreak for her fellow American Suni Lee, whose medal hopes were ruined when she also fell off the apparatus during her routine.

A video that has been circulating on social media has some fans crying foul after all four of the athletes who failed to stay on the bar appeared to lose their footing in a similar spot on the beam. 

‘Now… they all fell in a similar spot on the beam,’ one supporter wrote on X. Another said: ‘So the best gymnasts in the world, all fell on the exact same spot? Definitely not sus.’

Her team-mate Suni Lee also saw her medal hopes dashed after falling from the plank during her routine

Some fans on social media have been convinced that something suspicious is at play after watching footage of the falls on social media

‘Someone has definitely tampered with the beam,’ said a third onlooker. A fourth joked: ‘Someone did witchcraft because no way ALL of them fell exactly on the same spot’

Biles’ score took an age to come through but, when it did, her total of 13.100 was not enough to finish in the top three. She commented on the ‘odd beam final’ after the event’s conclusion and implied the atmosphere could have been to blame for the errors. 

‘The beam final is always the most stressful.’ The 27-year-old said. ‘Usually we have music or background noise, whatever that may be. We do better in environments with noise going on because it feels most like practice.

‘People start cheering and then people start shushing gets louder, but then they should be shushed because they’re louder. It was really weird and awkward.

‘We’ve asked several times for some music or background noise. I’m not really sure what happened there. Not our favourite, none of us liked it. Yes, it was an odd beam final.’

Eurosport commentator and former British gymnast Danusia Francis suggested that the chosen manufacturer may have been to blame. 

The 27-year-old finished the competition in fifth and was unable to add to her medal haul

Some fans believe that the beam has been ‘tampered’ with, while one supporter joked that ‘witchcraft’ is at play

She said: ‘The beam is looking terribly slippy today. Maybe they thought these girls are the best in the world [and they made it smaller],’ she joked.

‘The equipment is Gymnova. My personal preference, as a gymnast, was my least favourite. These gymnasts may be training on different brands of equipment.’

Italy’s Alice D’Amato and Manila Esposito took gold and bronze respectively, while China’s Zhou Yaqin won silver.