Simone Biles has been pulled out of the team finals at the Tokyo Olympics after a suspected injury botched her vault attempt.
Biles nearly slipped and fell to her knees trying to land her planned Amanar vault. She finished with a score of 13.766 and was spotted talking with trainers after the incident.
Confirmed: After one routine, Simone Biles 🇺🇸 will sit out the rest of the Women's Team final in #ArtisticGymnastics at #Tokyo2020. #Olympics
— FIG (@gymnastics) July 27, 2021
Jordan Chiles filled in for Biles on the uneven bars. When Biles returned her foot was seen “strapped heavily” even though the superstar gymnast was sporting her warm-up gear.
Reports are stating that Simone Biles is being attended to by a trainer and has left the field of play at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre #Tokyo2020 #SimoneBiles has not warmed up for the uneven bars, USA's second apparatus and reserve Jordan Chiles has.
More to come.. pic.twitter.com/dGyacVsVQO
— #Tokyo2020 (@Tokyo2020) July 27, 2021
Biles won first place in vault as well as in the all-around competition, but couldn’t hold up in other categories. She placed second in the floor routine, third in balance beam, and slipped all the way to eighth in the uneven bars routine.
According to an Olympics broadcast, Biles’s absence was not a foot-related injury, but instead a “mental health issue.”
Biles has been America’s favorite gymnast even before traveling to the Tokyo Olympics but proved that she was still only human as she led in a handful of events coming out of the qualification round to start the Games.
She wrote on her social media that she has found it difficult to adjust to the pressure that comes with representing Team USA.
“It wasn’t an easy day or my best but I got through it. I truly do feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders at times,” Biles wrote. “I know I brush it off and make it seem like pressure doesn’t affect me but damn sometimes it’s hard hahaha! The Olympics is no joke! BUT I’m happy my family was able to be with me virtually. They meant the world to me.”
