Dutch gymnast Sanne Wevers caused a huge upset when she ruined Simone Biles’s chances of scooping a record five golds at a single Olympics by winning the balance beam title in Rio de Janeiro, yesterday.

The American favourite had been expected to add the beam title in Rio 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’s 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 will be back today when she will be favourite to win the floor exercise.

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