Hopes for a minor comeback for Simone Biles was dashed even further when the star gymnast pulled out of another final at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, leaving only one up in the air.
via: People
The beam final is set to take place on Tuesday and is the last gymnastics event final of the Games.
This latest announcement about Biles’ withdrawal comes a day after the organization confirmed her exit from Sunday’s vault and uneven bars finals.
“Today, after further consultation with medical staff, Simone Biles has decided to withdraw from the event finals for vault and the uneven bars. She will continue to be evaluated daily to determine whether to compete in the finals for floor exercise and balance beam,” USA Gymnastics said in a statement on Saturday. “MyKayla Skinner, who had the fourth-highest score in vault during qualifications, will compete in vault finals for the U.S. alongside Jade Carey, who finished with the second-highest score.”
Last Thursday, Biles, who had qualified for every apparatus event final (vault, bars, beam and floor) did not participate in the individual all-around final, during which teammate Suni Lee won gold and became the fifth consecutive American female gymnast to be named all-around champion.
Days before, on Tuesday, Biles unexpectedly bowed out of the women’s gymnastics team final partway through the competition, and cited both her mental health — in particular, the rattling stress of this particular competition, in which she was the face of Team USA — and the sudden onset of what she called the “twisties,” when she lost her ability to sense her body move in the air.
After Biles’ withdrawal from the all-around, officials said the exit was “in order to focus on her mental health.”
“For anyone saying I quit. I didn’t quit, my mind & body are simply not in sync as you can see here,” Biles wrote on social media last Thursday. “I don’t think you realize how dangerous this is on hard/competition surface nor do I have to explain why I put health first.”
Also last Thursday, the two-time Olympian thanked her fans, tweeting: “The outpouring love & support I’ve received has made me realize I’m more than my accomplishments and gymnastics which I never truly believed before.”
Sending Simone love and support.
