Simone Biles pulled out of her first Tokyo Olympic medal event due to mental health concerns.
“It’s been really stressful this Olympic games… it’s been a long week, a long Olympic process, a long year,” Biles said, per ESPN’s Michele Steele. “I think we’re a little too stressed out — we should be out here having fun and that’s just not the case.”
“Once I came out here, I was like, no the mental is not there,” she added. “I had to let the girls do it.”
“I felt like it would be better to take a back seat… I didn’t want to risk the team a medal because they worked way too hard for my screw ups.”
Simone Biles on her withdrawal after the vault: “I felt like it would be better to take a back seat… I didn’t want to risk the team a medal because they worked way too hard for my screw ups.” pic.twitter.com/lI43LuFeX5
— Michele Steele (@MicheleSteele) July 27, 2021
Biles’ Team USA counterparts — Jordan Chiles, Sunisa “Suni” Lee, and Grace McCallum took home silver for Team USA. Per People, Chiles told reporters, “If it wasn’t for her, we wouldn’t be here, where we are right now,” she said. “We wouldn’t be silver Olympic medalists — because of who she is as a person, so kudos to you girlie.”
Biles says she plans to return for Thursday’s all-around final, though she also said on Today that she was “going to take it day by day and we’re just going to see.”
“Physically, I feel good, I’m in shape,” she told Hoda Kotb. “Emotionally, that kind of varies on the time and moment. Coming here to the Olympics and being the head star isn’t an easy feat, so we’re just trying to take it one day at a time and we’ll see.”
Biles cheered on teammates from the side.
Editorial credit: Salty View
