A small arena roof leak that led to water dripping onto the balance beam during the world gymnastics championships women’s team final on Tuesday was fixed before Thursday’s all-around final, according to organizers.
“We can confirm there was a very small leak in the arena roof during competition on Tuesday evening,” said an organizer for the event in Liverpool, England. “Once aware of it, we acted immediately, and contractors have been onsite and fixed the issue. We continue to monitor the situation. This type of incident is extremely rare and we apologize for any inconvenience caused.”
At least four U.S. gymnasts and a Canadian gymnast noticed a liquid either already on the four-inch-wide balance beam or dropping onto it during the team final won by the U.S. on a rainy day.
American Jade Carey said she saw a drip onto the beam during her routine.
“I was about to do my side aerial, and I was like, ‘Where did that come from?’” she told GymCastic.
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There were a significant number of falls off the beam -- eight, according to reporters on site -- among the 24 routines in the women’s team final.
Jordan Chiles, who had two beam falls in qualifying on Saturday, said she noticed part of the beam was wet in her 30-second warm-up before her routine Tuesday.
“I tried covering it before I could do my 30 seconds, but I was like, ‘I don’t have time for it,’” said Chiles, who then performed a clean beam set. “I was a little confused why there was water, but in that moment you can’t do anything about it, so you just have to go with the flow.”
Canadian Emma Spence said teammate Ellie Black mentioned it to her before she went on the beam. All three Canadians hit their beam routines without falling in the final rotation to snag the bronze medal, the program’s first Olympic or world medal in a men’s or women’s team event.
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Looking for the beam leak 💧 #drip pic.twitter.com/JV0YTg1Kpw
— Ellie Black (@EllieBlack_) November 2, 2022
