Simone Biles is considered one of the best gymnasts in the world. She is known for performing routines that no one else dares to even attempt during training. She is just 24 years old and has already grabbed several Olympic gold medals. And as the 2020 Tokyo games heated up, Biles was expected to blow the competition away. However, something changed all of that.
It all started on Tuesday, when Biles was taking part in the Women’s team finals. She had begun her vault routine, when it seemed like she was a bit off. She did just a one and a half twist rather than a two and a half twist and ended up with a low score because of it. She was then seen heading off with a trainer.
It was later discovered though that her lacking performance was not due to an injury. She said so during an interview, where she also talked about how the reason for her withdrawal from the competition was due to mental health concerns. She believed that it would be best for her to take a step back, that way she did not cost the team a medal. Her exact words from the interview stated, “I felt like it would be better to take a back seat. I didn’t want to risk the team a medal because they worked way too hard for my screwups.”
Biles was expected to compete in three other events during the team finals, so Jordan Chiles and Sunisa Lee took her place. Chiles took over on the uneven bars and the balance beam while Lee took over on the floor exercises. When the finals were all said and done, the United States still got their hands on a silver medal, finishing second to the Russian team.
This all happened with Biles still being cleared to take part. She had refused to continue after the coaches cleared her. Later on, she opened up about her situation in Tokyo by saying, “We should be out here having fun and sometimes that’s not the case.”
She would then open up more on Instagram by writing, “It wasn’t an easy day or my best but I got through it. “I truly do feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders at times.”
By Tuesday’s end, it was still unclear whether or not Biles would take part in her other events, as she intended to take the rest of the games one day at a time. However, there was an update just a day later. On Wednesday she announced that she would not be taking part in the Individual All-around event either. Instead, Jade Carey will take her place, competing alongside Sunisa Lee, who had also qualified.
That just leaves one question unanswered. Will Simone Biles take part in her individual events next week? As of right now she is still eligible to do so. She has not confirmed any sort of news on those events as of right now, and we very well may not hear more until next week when those events are set to take place. The one thing to worry about in that situation is that if Biles does decide to drop out of next week’s events, there will be no replacement, which means that the U.S. would miss out on those medals.
All in all, though, Simone Biles is doing something that a lot of professional athletes and competitors don’t have the bravery to do, and that is to worry about mental health first. Things like the Olympic games are filled with intense pressure and stress, as well as excitement and adrenaline piled on top of that. However, many athletes will try to ignore all of that, and they will push through without taking a moment to think about themselves. Biles has decided to take the other path, and is encouraging other athletes to put their own health first as well. Biles was asked by the press for her advice to other athletes in regards to mental health. Her response was, “Put mental health first … it’s okay sometimes to even sit out the big competitions to focus on yourself, because it shows how strong of a competitor and a person that you really are.”
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