This Is How You Fall Off a Beam
If you’ve paired your couchside Olympics watching with TikTok Olympics scrolling, you’ve probably seen all the athletes and former athletes posting their fails to what sounds like a drunken rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner” with the caption, “Sad to Announce I Did Not Make the Cut for Paris 2024.” Aspiring divers falling off diving boards, junior gymnasts glitching mid-routine, you get the picture. Thankfully, it seems two-time Olympian Sunisa Lee is as extremely online as audiences are, and — even better — is in on the joke. After falling off the apparatus during the women’s balance-beam final on Monday, Lee showed there is only one correct way to fall, and it is to accept your fate (and face-plant) with humility and a TikTok.
On Tuesday, the 21-year-old posted footage of her nosedive, writing, “Unfortunately I was selected for the Olympics ❤️.” She may have placed sixth overall in the balance-beam final with a score of 13.100, but if it were up to TikTok users, Lee would be flying home from Paris with an “internet gold” medal. LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne also commented on the video: “I can’t w u ????????????”
Despite taking the fall in jest, Lee told People and other reporters on the ground Monday that she was “disappointed” in herself, noting that the “mental side” of her routine always gets in the way and that she was “so tired” by the time her final event rolled around. Luckily, Lee will be returning Stateside with a suitcase full of medals — beam blunder and all.
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