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Star American Gymnast Simone Biles Withdraws From All-Around Final

Vivaan Singh Babbr
·3 min read

US gymnast Simone Biles has decided to withdraw from the All-around gymnastic final that is set to take place on Thursday at the Tokyo Olympics, due to mental health reasons. This decision comes just a day after Biles withdrew from the Women's team gymnastic event.

USA Gymnastics confirmed that after medical evaluation Biles will not take part in the final.

"After further medical evaluation, Simone Biles has withdrawn from the final individual all-around competition at the Tokyo Olympic Games, in order to focus on her mental health," read a statement from USA Gymnastics posted on Twitter on Wednesday.

"We wholeheartedly support Simone's decision and applaud her bravery in prioritising her wellbeing. Her courage shows, yet again, why she is a role model for so many," the statement further added.

Also Read: Simone Biles Pulls Out of Team Event at 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Biles is still yet to confirm if she will compete in the four individual finals which will take place next week.

Initially her withdrawal at the teams final event was attributed to a "medical issue" but after the event ended, Biles revealed her concerns.

"I have to focus on my mental health. I just think mental health is more prevalent in sports right now ... we have to protect our minds and our bodies and not just go out and do what the world wants us to do," she said while speaking to the media.

Following the Olympic gold medallist's withdrawal from the team final, Jordan Chiles replaced her in the final three rotations of uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise. It resulted in the USA claiming the silver medal behind eventual champions Russian Olympic Committee (ROC).

Biles was supposed to execute a Yurchenko vault with two-and-a-half twists, but was only able to perform one-and-a-half twists with her knees buckling on landing, however she did avoid falling to the ground.

This earned her a score of 13.766 which was one of the lowest and allowed the Russian Olympic committee to edge 1 point forward and clinch the gold.

Biles was immediately surrounded by her trainer and team after this incident and exited the arena floor and later returning with her right leg wrapped up.

When asked about the four remaining events Biles stated "We're going to take it a day at a time and see what happens." She hasn't fully ruled out the possibility of still competing at the Tokyo Olympics but will take it a day at a time.

"We're not just athletes, we're people at the end of the day and sometimes you just have to step back." said Biles to reporters.

Also Read: 'We're Humans Too,' Simone Biles Speaks Out After Pulling Out of Team Final

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