Tokyo Olympics: Simone Biles withdraws from vault and uneven poles finals

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Biles, arguably the world’s greatest gymnast, has dropped out of the Olympic competition in Tokyo to focus on her mental health. The 24-year-old explained in a series of Instagram posts that she suffers from sprains, a mental block in gymnastics in which competitors lose track of their centering in the air.

“After further consultations with the medical staff, Simone Biles has decided to withdraw from the event finals for vaulting and uneven bars,” USA Gymnastics said in a statement on Twitter.

“She will continue to be evaluated daily to determine if she will compete in the finals for the floor exercises and balance beam.”

The women’s jump and pub finals take place on Sunday, the women’s floor final on Monday, and the beam final on Tuesday.

MyKayla Skinner, who earned the fourth-highest jump score during the qualifying rounds, will compete in the US vaulting finals alongside Jade Carey, who took the second-highest score, according to USA Gymnastics.

“We remain in awe of Simon, who continues to handle this situation with courage and grace, and all the athletes who have advanced under these unexpected circumstances,” the statement added.

Biles walked away for the first time during Tuesday’s women’s gymnastics final, citing mental health concerns as she tried to protect her “body and mind.” A day later, she withdrew from Thursday’s all-around singles final. Biles was one of the favorites to win gold in the event, having won every singles competition she has competed in since 2013. After the US Gymnastics announcement on Saturday, Skinner said in an Instagram post: “Looks like I’m going to only compete with Leo at one time. You can’t wait to compete in the vault finals.” Ranked behind Biles and Curry in the playoffs round, Skinner did not initially advance to the vaulting final due to the limit on players per country. She believed that her career as a competitive gymnast was over.

Skinner said she’s “doing this for us,” tagging Biles in an Instagram post. “It’s time, my love!” She added.

‘It’s honestly terrifying’

In a series of Instagram stories on Friday, Simone Biles shared videos – since deleted – of herself struggling with unraveling on uneven bars and answering questions about the existence of sprains.

Biles said her final bouts of sprains began the morning after the preliminary competition. She said she’s been touched by it before, saying in a post, “By the way, it’s never been moved to bars and beams for me. She absolutely loves the floor and basement.” Then she added, “But this time in literally every event. Which is bad…really bad.”

In two of the now-deleted videos, Biles can be seen struggling with removals on uneven bars.

In the first video, she said she was supposed to do another lap and a half on her back. Instead, the video shows her landing on her back on the carpet.

A separate video shows another jaw, in which she says she still needs to complete another half lap, and falls onto the carpet in apparent frustration.

She said the videos were taken Friday morning in practice. In another post, she added, “It’s frankly scary trying to do a skill but your mind and body not synchronizing.”

Clearing out these fluctuations “varies with time” and usually lasts for her two weeks or more, Biles said, adding that it’s “something you have to take day in and day out, in turns.”

‘I should focus on my mental health’

In an emotional interview after Tuesday’s team final, Biles broke down in tears as she explained her decision, putting the issue of mental health front and center for the 2020 Olympics.

“When you’re in a very tense situation, you kind of panic,” Biles told reporters on Tuesday. “I must focus on my mental health and not jeopardize my health and well-being.

“It’s just annoying when you fight with your head.”

Earlier that day, Naomi Osaka – who has also spoken candidly about her mental health struggles – was knocked out of the women’s Olympic tennis tournament.

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