Alice D’Amato wins Italy’s first Olympic title in any women’s gymnastics event

Italian gymnast Alice D’Amato won her country’s first women’s gymnastics Olympic medal on Monday 5 August as she struck gold on the balance beam at Paris 2024.

D’Amato scored  14.366 ahead of China’s Zhou Yaqin who scored 14.100. The evening was made even more special for Italy as Manila Esposito claimed the bronze medal. Never before had Italy won an Olympic medal in an individual women’s gymnastics event and now they have two on one night.

“If I didn’t have any words after winning silver in the team competition, I definitely don’t have any words right now,” D’Amato said after claiming gold.

“I tried to keep concentrated on my routine (today). I was very disappointed after having narrowly missed out on the medals in the all-around and the uneven bars final. I really didn’t want to go home without another medal. So I persevered to achieve this medal.

“I don’t know what to say. I can’t believe it. I didn’t even expect to win a medal on beam, let alone the gold. I will soak in all the emotions and will do that for as long as I can.”

Photo by © Naomi Baker/Getty Image