Team USA gymnast Jordan Chiles posted a touching message to her “best friend” Simone Biles after Biles withdrew from the individual all-around competition at the Tokyo Olympics.
“To my best friend, just thinking about everything we have gone through together from us getting mad at each other for no reason to laughing at jokes, to bringing the love of this sport back to me with your help words can’t explain how proud I am of you. I LOVE YOU and am literally crying just thinking about everything. WE did this together,” Chiles wrote on Instagram.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics are the first Olympics since Biles disclosed the sexual abuse she faced at the hands of former Olympic physician Larry Nassar.
“We also have to focus on ourselves, because at the end of the day we’re human, too,” Biles said, according to The Associated Press. “We have to protect our mind and our body, rather than just go out there and do what the world wants us to do.”
Biles confessed that mentally, she just isn’t up to right now. And that’s okay.
“Physically, I feel good,” she said on NBC’s “TODAY” show. “Emotionally, that kind of varies on the time and moment. Coming here to the Olympics and being the head star of the Olympics isn’t an easy feat. So we’re just trying to take it one day at a time, and we’ll see.”
USA Gymnastics released a message of support following Biles’ decision.
“After further medical evaluation, Simone Biles has withdrawn from the final individual all-around competition,” the statement reads. “We wholeheartedly support Simone’s decision and applaud her bravery in prioritizing her well-being,” USA Gymnastics added. “Her courage shows, yet again, why she is a role model for so many.”
