USA gymnast Simone Biles has withdrawn from two more Tokyo Olympic finals following advice from the team’s medical staff.
“Today, after further consultation with medical staff, Simone Biles has decided to withdraw from the event finals for vault and the uneven bars. She will continue to be evaluated daily to determine whether to compete in the finals for floor exercise and balance beam,” USA Gymnastics said in a statement.
“MyKayla Skinner, who had the fourth-highest score in vault during qualifications, will compete in vault finals for the U.S. alongside Jade Carey, who finished with the second-highest score,” gymnastics officials said.
Earlier this week, Biles withdrew from both the women’s gymnastics team final and then the individual all-around final.
While Biles received a lot of support, not everybody was as gracious and accused the athlete of being “lazy,” with the Texas deputy attorney general even referring to the decorated Olympian as a “childish national embarassment.”
Biles took to Twitter to fight back. She explained that she had a case of “the twisties,” which could be extremely dangerous.
“For anyone saying I quit. I didn’t quit, my mind & body are simply not in sync as you can see here,” Biles tweeted. “I don’t think you realize how dangerous this is on hard/competition surface nor do I have to explain why I put health first.”
She also thanked her loved ones and her fans for their support.
“The outpouring love & support I’ve received has made me realize I’m more than my accomplishments and gymnastics which I never truly believed before,” Biles wrote on Instagram.
We wish Simone Biles all the best and pray that she focuses on her healing.
Sunisa Lee, who earned gold in the all-around event Thursday, will be the only American gymnast in the bars final as she was the only athlete with a good enough qualifying score.
