OLYMPIC GAMES
Simone Biles returns for gymnastic's balance beam finals: times, TV, and how to watch 2021 Olympics
The American will be back at the balance beams after a week of being absent due to mental health issues.
Women's gymnastics will come to an end this Tuesday night in Tokyo with the balance beam finals competition. The good news is that Simone Biles will be competing for the first time since withdrawing from the finals of the all-around portion of the games.
This would be the last opportunity that Biles will have at an individual medal. The American qualified for the finals of every portion of the competition, the all-around, vault, uneven bars, floor exercise, and balance beam, before pulling out from all of them except the balance beam taking place this Tuesday.
Who will she face?
The competition is a big one. Biles will have to face her teammate Sunisa Lee, who won the gold in the all-around and bronze on the bars. Moreover, she will also be against Tang Xijing and Guan Chenchen of China, first and second in the qualifying round, in addition to Romanian Larisa Iordache.
How to watch?
The competition begins Tuesday at 4:50 a.m. Eastern time and can be live-streamed via the NBC Olympics site, Peacock, or the NBC Sports app. And will be replayed in primetime on NBC Aug. 3, 8 p.m. ET.
How the competition works
The eight gymnasts who scored highest on beam in the qualifying round, with a maximum of two per country, will compete in the final.
The possible future
Simone Biles has said on other occasions that she is planning to retire after the Tokyo Games. This could be the last competition and routine that the gymnast will do at an Olympics. Keep in mind that last April, she stated that it was possible for her to consider returning for Paris 2024 as a specialist.