Guan triumphs in women's balance beam final at Tokyo Olympics

TOKYO - China's Guan Chenchen and Tang Xijing clinched gold and silver medals respectively in women's balance beam at Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday.

16-year-old Guan, a balance beam specialist, topped the competition in 14.633 points, trailed by her teammate Tang in 14.233 points.

She finished first in 14.933 in qualification and was the last to compete on the apparatus in the final. With a 6.600-difficulty routine, she secured the third gymnastics gold for China.

"I actually never expected that I would get a medal. My coach said, 'this is your first time in the Olympics and no one knows you so just go in and do your best,'" Guan said after the final.

"I actually started gymnastics much later than other people so I think this is a good result for me. Even though this competition is very tiring, I'm very happy with this result," she said.

18-year-old Tang, who placed second to qualify, received an unparalleled 8.233 execution score for her routine, settling for silver in the final.

"Today I tried not to think too much about the result. I just tried my best. Even though there were some little errors, I am very satisfied with the fact I was able to win a medal here," Tang said.

US gymnast Simone Biles took bronze in 14.000 points after she withdrew from individual all-around, vault, floor exercise and uneven bars finals.

"It's been a very long week, a very long five years. I didn't expect to medal today, I just wanted to go out and do it for me, and that's what I did," she said. "It definitely feels more special, this bronze, than the balance beam bronze at Rio. I will cherish it for a long time."