TOKYO — U.S. superstar gymnast Simone Biles, the greatest gymnast of all time, will not compete in the individual all-around gymnastics final at the Summer Olympics on Thursday.
The Olympic individual all-around is the sport’s marquee individual event, and she won by a huge margin at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.
She pulled out of the team final on Tuesday, saying she needed to take care of her mental health.
“After a further medical evaluation, Simone Biles has withdrawn from the final individual all-around competition,” USA Gymnastics said in a statement.
“We wholeheartedly support Simone’s decision and applaud her bravery in prioritizing her well-being,” USA Gymnastics added. “Her courage shows, yet again, why she is a role model for so many.”
Biles still may compete in the individual event finals — USA Gymnastics said she’d be evaluated every day to determine whether she’ll take part. She qualified in all four of the events.
Jade Carey, who came to Tokyo as an event specialist, will take Biles’ place in the all-around individual event. Carey had an exceptionally strong showing at the qualifying event, placing ninth overall.
There are more questions surrounding Simone Biles than ever before as the 2021 Olympics continue.
Biles withdrew after participating in just one event during the women’s gymnastics team final on Tuesday. Her early exit has left gymnastics fans wondering if the greatest gymnast of all time will be returning to the floor during the Tokyo Games.
Is Simone Biles out of the Olympics?
Biles hasn’t withdrawn from the Olympics yet. However, she will not be participating in the individual all-around final on Thursday. USA Gymnastics confirmed this and iterated its “wholehearted support” for Biles.
Jade Carey will replace Biles in the all-around competition after finishing ninth in qualifying.
Biles was hopeful she’d be able to return to action for the individual event finals after the team final. However, she wouldn’t commit to participating in the rest of the events at the 2021 Olympics.
“We’ll see,” she said of her status moving forward.
What happened to Simone Biles?
Biles was unable to finish the Olympic women’s gymnastics team final on Tuesday morning. She vaulted once — putting up a score of 13.766, an unusually low number for her — before heading into the locker room with a trainer.
Biles returned to the floor but didn’t return to action. She instead focused on helping to coach up and motivate her teammates en route to a silver medal for Team USA.
Why did Simone Biles withdraw?
During the competition, it was noted that Biles withdrew as a result of a “medical issue.” Afterward, she noted that the medical issue she was dealing with was, indeed, a mental one.
“Once I came out here, I was like, no, the mental is not there,” Biles said.
After bailing out of her vault, Biles was worried about her performance. Above all else, she wanted to make sure she didn’t hurt herself in competition.
“But at the end of the day it’s like, we want to walk out of here, not be dragged out here on a stretcher,” she told reporters, per Slate. “I just don’t trust myself as much as I used to. And I don’t know if it’s age — I’m a little bit more nervous when I do gymnastics. I feel like I’m also not having as much fun, and I know that.”
As a result, Biles made the decision to withdraw and let her teammates take charge of the team event.
“I felt like it would be better to take a back seat,” Biles said. “I didn’t want to risk the team a medal because they worked way too hard for my screw-ups.”
Simone Biles Olympic schedule
Biles was originally set to participate in all six of the gymnastics finals — the team, all-around, vault, uneven bars, floor, and balance beam. She has bowed out of the all-around competition and her status for the final four-team event finals is uncertain.
This makes sense to me she is doing what she has to do to take care of the team, there is no “I” in the team she wants them to have the best chance to win all-around and she is giving her team the opportunity she earned and they earned as a team. This is an unselfish act. She has been doing this level of competition since she was 7 years old now she is 24 years old. She is the Goat. Simone is doing the right thing for the team and now they have silver medals that is nothing to to sneeze at. It take alot of courage to know when you can’t go own. Simone is the real Goat. She is best in the world.