Simone Biles Withdrew From Olympic Gymnastics Team Finals for a Medical Issue
Her coach said, "Physically she is fine. But she is done for the night."
Team USA superstar gymnast Simone Biles bowed out of the 2020 Tokyo gymnastics final today, July 27th, after competing in Team USA’s first rotation on vault. Biles’ coach told NBC after Biles walked off the floor, “Physically she is fine. But she is done for the night.” However, USA Gymnastics cited in a statement that Biles withdrew from the team final competition “due to a medical issue.”
Something was amiss during Biles’ set when she signaled that she planned to complete an Amanar vault (a roundoff back handspring off the apparatus, followed by two and a half mid-air twists) but instead only managed to complete one and a half of those twists. She landed on the mat, knees bent, and stumbled backward some before immediately leaving the floor to find her trainer.
Her fumble on the vault is extremely uncharacteristic for Biles, who is considered the greatest gymnast of all time.
Her fellow three teammates, including Jordan Chiles, who had originally planned to sit out on the uneven bars competition, completed the final three rotations and took home silver with Biles watching from the sidelines. The Russian gymnasts scored gold.
It’s still unclear what exactly happened to cause Biles to step out of the competition, and she is currently being assessed to see if she can continue on throughout the Games.
No matter if Biles is physically injured or suffering from a mental health issue, we hope she takes time for herself to heal—despite the international acclaim and publicity, the Olympics are just games after all.
