"Beam final was so terrifying" - Aly Raisman opens up on nerve-wracking situation at the 2012 London Olympics

Aly Raisman shared that the tension in the arena during the balance beam final at the 2012 London Olympics was incomprehensible. Raisman was the captain of the 'Fierce Five' women's gymnastic team at the London Olympics, the debut Olympiad of her career.

At the 2012 London Olympics, she contributed scores of 15.300 on the floor exercise and 14.933 on the balance and anchored the US team to the top finish. In the individual all-around final, Raisman's score of 59.566 tied her for bronze with the Russian athlete, Aliyah Mustafina, but the former missed out on a medal after a tie-break.

Aly Raisman became the first US gymnast to win the floor gold at the Olympics with a score of 15.600. Despite not winning gold, the 30-year-old took pride in her balance beam bronze claim, since she was not expected to medal in that event.

Aly Raisman initially scored 14.966, which gave her a fourth finish, but a further inquiry upgraded her position to bronze after the judges granted her an extra tenth in difficulty. Talking about the moment with BBC, Raisman said that the silence in the Olympic arena during the beam finals was nail-biting to the extent that she was terrified.

"I wasn't expected to medal on the beam so getting that bronze medal is actually one of my proudest moments... Beam final at the Olympics is like so terrifying. The tension in the arena, you can literally hear like a bag of chips opening. It's so quiet, it's so nerve-wracking," Raisman said.

Apart from her exploits in London, the American also impressed at the 2016 Rio Games, winning gold in the team event while clinching two silvers in the all-around and floor exercise events.

Aly Raisman on her floor routine at the 2012 Olympics: "It was the best routine I've ever done in my entire life"

The London Olympics was Raisman's debut Olympiad so the tension was going through the roof. Her balance beam performance earned her the bronze but the stress in the arena had impacted her and was likely to hinder her performances.

Before the floor finals also, Aly Raisman was feeling low in confidence but a quick talk with her coach helped her shut down the noise inside her head. She regained her confidence and clinched the gold medal on the floor, becoming the first US gymnast to achieve so.

"It was the best floor routine I've ever done in my entire life. I just felt in a state of 'flow' – which I've never been in before competing. I think because my practice was so stressful… and I was struggling so much, and my confidence wasn't great, letting it go was the best decision I made," she told to BBC.

The 30-year-old retired gymnast will be at the 2024 Paris Olympics as the hospitality ambassador of the event. She will be joined by the swimming legend, Michael Phelps.