“I did not stop”: Simone Biles responds to criticism

[ad_1]

TOKYO (NEXSTAR) Simone Biles posted a series of comments on Instagram early Friday, noting that she had not left the Olympics, but rather “my mind and body just aren’t in sync.”

Shortly after qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday, the quadruple Olympic gold medalist lost her way. She kept telling her body to twist. He kept saying, what would you say no.

Twisties, as they are known in the gymnastics community, were back. And Biles knew it, which led her to withdraw from the team final after a rotation and skip the all-around final.

Commenting on the “twisties,” Biles said she “literally can’t tell the top from the bottom. It’s the craziest feeling ever.

Biles did not rule out participating in the event final for which she qualified for all four from Sunday. Still, even a mini-break from the competition floor didn’t cure her. In a series of social media posts on Friday, the 24-year-old gave a preview of the twisties.

Sometimes I can’t even imagine twisting myself, Biles posted. I really can’t figure out how to twist.

She called it the strangest, weirdest thing.

She has dealt with them before. The difference this time? They don’t just affect him on the jump and floor exercises like they’ve done in the past. Now they also follow her to the bars and the beam.

It’s honestly petrifying, ”she wrote, trying to do a skill but not having mind and body in sync.

The vault and uneven bars finals are on Sunday. Biles is the reigning Olympic champion in vault and she unveiled the heartbreaking Yurchenko Double Pike in May.

Biles already has four maneuvers named after him in the sport’s code of points. If she wants to do five, she has to do the Yurchenko Double Pike in Tokyo. Considering the vault’s difficulty and its current issues, it seems highly unlikely that she will attempt it. She’s not much of a medal threat on the uneven bars where Lee and Belgium’s Nina Derwael are set for an epic showdown, so it might not be worth the risk.

The beam, where she won bronze in Rio, and the floor exercise will take place later in the week. Maybe she is somehow regaining confidence in herself and her surroundings.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report)

[ad_2]