Tokyo Olympics: Simone Biles won't compete on first day of apparatus finals
Jul 31, 2021
Tokyo [Japan], July 31: USA Gymnastics announced on Saturday that six-time Olympic medallist Simone Biles will not participate in Sunday's vault or uneven bars apparatus 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," read a statement from the U.S. governing body, as per Olympics.com.
"We remain in awe of Simone, who continues to handle this situation with courage and grace, and all of the athletes who have stepped up during these unexpected circumstances."
American MyKayla Skinner will replace Biles in the vault final and France's Melanie de Jesus dos Santos in the uneven bars. Biles qualified to all four of the apparatus finals, scheduled for August 1-3. Earlier in Tokyo, she withdrew from the team competition after getting lost in midair and from the all-around final entirely to focus on her mental health.
On her Instagram story on Friday, Biles detailed her struggles in training with the "twisties," a gymnastics term for when a gymnast's body and mind seemingly stop working together. "My mind and body are simply not in sync," Biles wrote in one of her story slides. "For anyone saying I quit. I didn't quit."
The 24-year-old also posted now deleted videos showing her getting lost in the air on two attempts at her uneven bars dismount, a double-twisting, double back.
Biles explained she had previously suffered from the phenomenon but only on floor and vault. Tokyo is the first time they have bled into another events. "They're not fun to deal with," she said. "It's honestly petrifying trying to do a skill... not having your mind and body in sync."
The world's most dominant gymnast praised her teammates for winning USA team silver at Tokyo 2020 after admitting that continuing might have cost them a medal. Biles said she was looking forward to a "good mental rest" ahead of deciding whether to take part in further competition at these Games.
