Simone Biles withdraws from The Olympics
Two-time Olympian and six-time Olympic medalist, Simone Biles, has withdrawn from the Team and All-Around artistic gymnastics competition.
With a combined total of 30 Olympic and World Championship medals, Biles is the most decorated American gymnast and is regarded by many to be one of the greatest and most dominant gymnasts of all time.
After a shaky beginning, a step out of bounds on the floor, a stumble on a bean dismount, and a dangerous missed flip while landing on the vault; Biles decided to withdraw from the Team competition due to mental health challenges. Her teammates, Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, and Grace McCallum, make up for her usually high-scoring routines.
Biles stood on the sidelines to cheer them on. After a solid effort from each, Team USA Gymnastics landed a silver medal. The Russian Olympic Committee won the gold, scoring .8 points higher than the USA.
Biles has come out on social media and interviews to say that she is being met with a common gymnastics issue named the "twisties." In gymnastics, the twisties are a dangerous mental block where your body loses spatial recognition in the air, unable to pinpoint where the body is and what it needs to do to land safely. Getting lost in the air can result in landing on the neck or head, which can be deadly. In addition to this, the world's weight was on Biles, who is known as the GOAT of gymnastics. She won the team and individual all-around competition in vault and floor gold in Rio at the 2016 Olympics. The delay with Covid-19 and the pressure of being one of the greatest gymnasts affected Biles's mental and physical health.
At this time, she is being evaluated by her team daily to see if she will be well enough to return for the individual medals.
Fans of Biles, professional athletes, and experienced gymnasts spoke out online about her decision. While some deem it unfair for her to quit on the team, noting that they would've almost been guaranteed the gold medal with her usual scores, others commended her for choosing safety over the sport. Mental health and the pressure of being an athlete need to be talked about more often. We are watching one of the best professional athletes in the world impacted by something so familiar allowed the struggles to be normalized.
Biles reacted to a tweet saying that her decision to withdraw allowed her team to win Silver, rather than not placing at all with her staying on the team. She is cheering her teammates on from the sidelines and being a solid support system.
On Thursday morning, 18-year-old Sunisa Lee won the Olympic all-around gold medal. The United States has won this gold for 17 years straight. Lee's bar performance is the most difficult in the world. Biles cheered her on the entire way.
She is more than just a gymnast; she is a human being.