Famed U.S. Olympic gymnast Simone Biles said she is OK after suffering “a little injury to my pride” that led to her dramatic exit from the team Olympics gymnastics competition in Tokyo.
Biles withdrew from the competition following one rotation, a stunning decision that opened the door for the team Russian Olympic Committee to surge to gold. Her American teammates held on for silver after the 24-year-old realized following a shaky vault she wasn’t in the right headspace to compete.
“I didn’t want to go into any of the other events second-guessing myself,” Biles said. “So, I thought it would be better if I took a step back and let these girls go out there and do their job.”
In a news conference reported by TIME, Biles said, “I just felt like it would be a little bit better to take a backseat, work on my mindfulness and I knew that the girls would do an absolutely great job and I didn’t want to risk the team a medal.”
USA Gymnastics said Biles was pulled from team competition due to a reported “medical issue.” The organization said Biles will be assessed daily to determine if she will be available for future competitions during the Games.
Biles is still eligible to compete in the individual all-around, which takes place later this week, and the apparatus finals, which start Sunday.
“It’s been a really stressful Olympic Games as a whole; not having an audience,” Biles said, according to Fox News. “There are a lot of different variables going into [the Games. It’s been a long week; it’s been a long Olympic process/year. I think we’re a little bit too stressed out. We should be out here having fun, and sometimes that’s not the case.
“Today has been really stressful, we had a workout this morning; it went OK but during that five-and-a-half hour wait I was shaking - I could barely nap. I had never felt like that going into a competition before. I tried to go out here and have fun; the warmup in the back went a little bit better but once I came out here I was like, ‘no, mentals [sic] not here so I just need to let the girls do it and focus on myself.’”
Initial reports and commentary coming during NBC’s Olympics coverage had Biles suffering from a reported injury. Then speculation shifted that Biles was dealing with a mental issue.
Biles, the reigning Olympic gymnastics champion who is considered to be the greatest gymnast of all time, huddled with a trainer after landing her vault. She then exited the competition floor with the team doctor.
The U.S. began finals on vault, with Biles going last. She was supposed to do an “Amanar,” a vault that begins with a roundoff back handspring onto the table followed by 2 ½ twists. She seemed to change her mind in midair, doing just 1 ½ twist instead.
She walked off and was tended to by team doctor Marcia Faustin before making her way out of the arena.
Biles, 24, returned several minutes later with her right leg wrapped. She took off her bar grips, hugged teammates Grace McCallum, Sunisa Lee and Jordan Chiles before putting on a jacket and sweatpants.
Biles is scheduled to defend her Olympic title in the all-around final on Thursday. She also qualified for all four event finals later in the Games. Whether she will get that opportunity remains to be seen.
The team representing the Russia Olympic Committee surged past the short-handed U.S. to the top of the podium, posting a score of 169.258 to win the country’s first Olympic team gold in nearly 30 years.
The Americans hung on for silver and Great Britain won bronze.
Biles won five medals in Rio de Janeiro five years ago and had a chance to actually top that after advancing to all five finals. It remains to be seen whether she will be available for the all-around final on Thursday night and the event finals later in the Games.
In team competition, Russia stunned the U.S. team in qualifying, posting a top score of 171.629, more than a full point ahead of the U.S. total of 170.562. While Biles topped the all-around with teammate Lee in third, the Americans ended their session looking up at another name on the scoreboard in the team standings for the first time since the 2010 world championships.
While the 24-year-old star topped the all-around with a total of 57.731 and advanced to the finals in all four events, it didn’t come easy. She backpedaled all the way off the mat following a tumbling pass on her floor exercise, then basically did the same on vault. She responded with a solid set on uneven bars, but a spectacular beam routine ended with her temporarily reeling following her dismount.
Biles, who came to Japan as the face of the U.S. Olympic movement and possibly the Games themselves, saluted the judges then walked off the podium with a smile.
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