"Simone could have hid in the background. "To the people accusing her of not being a team player and that she just wanted to focus on the individual - in my mind, she could not have been more of a team player. That she had the bravery and the courage to pull out of the event is just huge. "Even more importantly, she's laid a foundation for so many athletes and so many people around the world to say 'do you know what, the amount of pressure, the amount of eyes on me in this moment in time, something doesn't feel right'. Every sports person knows that if you go in half-cocked, you're going to cause yourself an injury, none more so than in gymnastics. "She said she wasn't in the right mental frame of mind to go and perform well enough and that she could have caused herself some damage. On social media, people accused her of using it as an excuse to pull out because she wasn't performing as well. "I'd see headlines popping up saying she was weak, she wasn't mentally strong enough to deal with the pressure. Speaking on BBC Olympics Breakfast about Simone Biles and mental health in sport, 2016 hockey gold medal winner Sam Quek said: "Watching it unfold yesterday I was getting more and more frustrated. GOAT in more ways than one." 'Biles returned and cheered her team-mates - that is a champion' Several athletes praised Biles, including Jamaican gymnast Danusia Francis who said: "Don't know about you but I think Simone Biles just empowered everyone to put their mental wellbeing above everything else. Sarah Hirshland, chief executive of the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, said Biles had "made us so proud," adding: "We applaud your decision to prioritise your mental wellness over all else and offer you the full support and resources of our Team USA community as you navigate the journey ahead." We're people at the end of the day and sometimes you just have to step back." There were a couple of days when everybody tweets you and you feel the weight of the world. "We have to protect our minds and our bodies and not just go out and do what the world wants us to do. I just think mental health is more prevalent in sports right now. Team silver in Tokyo was Biles' sixth Olympic medal and took her tally of Olympic and World Championship medals to 30.Īfterwards, Biles said: "After the performance I did, I just didn't want to go on. She left the arena but returned to support her team-mates as the defending champions claimed silver behind the Russian Olympic Committee. Her courage shows, yet again, why she is a role model for so many."īiles scored her lowest Olympic vault score in the opening rotation before withdrawing from the team final. "We wholeheartedly support Simone's decision and applaud her bravery in prioritising her wellbeing. USA gymnastics said: "Simone will continue to be evaluated daily to determine whether or not to participate in next week's individual event finals. She was due to defend her all-around title on Thursday before competing in the finals of the vault and uneven bars on Sunday, 1 August, floor on Monday, 2 August and beam on Tuesday, 3 August. The 24-year-old has reached all five individual finals in Tokyo. She finished seventh on beam in qualifications with a 14.066.īiles has previously said she planned to retire after the Tokyo Games, meaning that beam would be her final Olympic routine, but hinted in April that she could consider returning for Paris 2024 as a specialist.The head of the US Olympic team and fellow athletes praised Biles' decision to prioritise her mental wellbeing. One of Biles' eponymous skills is a double-twisting double backflip beam dismount, but she could end her routine on Tuesday with a simpler skill. The condition can be highly dangerous, as gymnasts can lose track of where the ground is.īiles maintained throughout the gymnastics competition, however, that she wasn't ruling out a return, and on Monday morning, USA Gymnastics confirmed that she will compete - along with all-around gold medalist Suni Lee - in the beam final. The four-time Olympic medalist revealed she was dealing with a case of the "twisties," a phenomenon in which gymnasts experience a disconnect between their bodies and minds while twisting through the air. She later withdrew from the individual all-around final and her first three event finals - vault, uneven bars and floor exercise. ET STREAM HERE).īiles, 24, pulled out of the team final last week after one rotation on vault, citing mental health concerns. ET, can be streamed live on and in the NBC Sports App ( STREAM LIVE HERE), and will be replayed in primetime on NBC (Aug. 3 during the last session of event finals, which also includes the men's parallel bars and high bar. Simone Biles is returning to competition in her last chance at the Tokyo Olympics, the beam event final.īeam is set for 4:50 a.m.
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