There are more questions surrounding Simone Biles than ever before as the 2021 Olympics continue on.
Biles withdrew after participating in just one event during the women’s gymnastics team final on Tuesday. Her early exit has left gymnastics fans wondering if the greatest gymnast of all time will be returning to the floor during the Tokyo Games.
The women’s all-around final will take place on Thursday morning while the remaining four event finals will occur Sunday through Tuesday. Will Biles participate in them? Here are the latest updates on her status for the rest of the Olympic Games.
Is Simone Biles out of the Olympics?
Biles hasn’t withdrawn from the Olympics yet. However, she will not be participating in the individual all-around final on Thursday. USA Gymnastics confirmed this and iterated its “wholehearted support” for Biles.
Jade Carey will replace Biles in the all-around competition after finishing ninth in qualifying.
Biles was hopeful she’d be able to return to action for the individual event finals after the team final. However, she wouldn’t commit to participating in the rest of the events at the 2021 Olympics.
“We’ll see,” she said of her status moving forward.
What happened to Simone Biles?
Biles was unable to finish the Olympic women’s gymnastics team final on Tuesday morning. She vaulted once — putting up a score of 13.766, an unusually low number for her — before heading into the locker room with a trainer.
Biles returned to the floor but didn’t return to action. She instead focused on helping to coach up and motivate her teammates en route to a silver medal for Team USA.
Why did Simone Biles withdraw?
During the competition, it was noted that Biles withdrew as a result of a “medical issue.” Afterward, she noted that the medical issue she was dealing with was, indeed, a mental one.
“Once I came out here, I was like, no, the mental is not there,” Biles said.
After bailing out of her vault, Biles was worried about her performance. Above all else, she wanted to make sure she didn’t hurt herself in competition.
“But at the end of the day it’s like, we want to walk out of here, not be dragged out here on a stretcher,” she told reporters, per Slate. “I just don’t trust myself as much as I used to. And I don’t know if it’s age — I’m a little bit more nervous when I do gymnastics. I feel like I’m also not having as much fun, and I know that.”
As a result, Biles made the decision to withdraw and let her teammates take charge of the team event.
“I felt like it would be better to take a back seat,” Biles said. “I didn’t want to risk the team a medal because they worked way too hard for my screw-ups.”
Simone Biles Olympic schedule
Biles was originally set to participate in all six of the gymnastics finals — the team, all-around, vault, uneven bars, floor and balance beam. She has bowed out of the all-around competition and her status for the final four team event finals is uncertain.
Simone Biles medal count
Though Biles withdrew from the team competition, Biles still earned a silver medal after participating in one event. That marks the sixth Olympic medal of her career and her first silver. She earned four gold medals and one bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
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