RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – The drive for five is over. American Simone Biles was trying to become the first female gymnast to capture five gold medals at a single Olympics when she began the balance beam competition at the Rio Olympics on Monday. But she had to settle for bronze following a flawed performance, wobbling during the middle of her routine and landing awkwardly while completing a front somersault. Biles had to grab the beam with both hands to avoid falling down and eliminating herself from medal contention. U.S. teammate Laurie Hernandez claimed the silver medal in an event won by Sanne Wevers of the Netherlands. The 19-year-old Biles will be in the mix for another gold on Tuesday in the floor exercise finals.
Also at the Rio Games:
– On the track, Shaunae Miller of Bahamas dove to the finish line to win the women’s 400-meter final, preventing American Allyson Felix from capturing a fifth Olympic gold medal. Miller finished in 49.44, just seven-hundredths of a second ahead of Felix.
– Colorado’s Emma Coburn took bronze in the women’s 3000 steeplechase. She is the first American woman to medal in the event.
– Kenyan middle distance runner David Rudisha won gold in the 800 meters, finishing in 1 minute, 42.15 seconds. Clayton Murphy of the United States set a personal best of 1:42.93 for bronze.
– Two-time Olympic champion Veronica Campbell-Brown has missed out on qualifying for the semifinals in the women’s 200 meters. The 34-year-old won the 2004 and ’08 Olympic titles and was a bronze medalist at the last world championships.
– The United States and Hungary have advanced to the semifinals of the women’s water polo tournament. The U.S. cruised past Brazil 13-3 and Hungary went to penalty shots for a 13-11 win against Australia. They will play on Wednesday for a spot in the final.
– Brazil knocked the American men out of the Olympic beach volleyball tournament. Nick Lucena and 2008 gold medalist Phil Dalhausser finished fifth.
– Germany defeated the United States 2-1 in the women’s field hockey quarterfinals. The U.S. failed to medal after opening the tournament with wins over No. 2 Argentina and No. 3 Australia.
– Make it 0-2 for the Americans in boxing. Antonio Vargas and Mikaela Mayer both lost their bouts, dropping Team USA to 10-5 in the boxing tournament.
– And once again politics have entered the Olympic arena. In judo, Egypt’s Islam El Shehaby has been sent home after refusing to shake his Israeli opponent’s hand. The IOC says Shehaby was reprimanded by the referee and then was sent home by the Egyptian Olympic Committee.
