Simone Biles Describes Needing to Focus on Her ‘Well-Being’ After Olympic Withdrawal: ‘There’s More to Life Than Gymnastics’
Simone Biles confirmed she withdrew from the Team Gymnastics event at the Tokyo Olympics to “focus on my mental health” and “not jeopardize my health and well-being,” while speaking to reporters Tuesday.
After early reports from a coach stated Biles pulled out of the competition for a “mental issue,” USA Gymnastics later released a short statement calling her withdrawal a “medical issue.”
Speaking to reporters following the competition, which saw Team USA earn the silver medal, Biles confirmed she did not get injured, despite slipping during her final vault attempt.
One of the most remarkable mixed zone press conferences I’ve known. In which Simone Biles described pulling out of tonight’s team event because she had to put her mental health first. Says she was inspired by Naomi Osaka among others #Olympics #ArtisticGymnastics pic.twitter.com/p3Rli5S7J0
— Ian Herbert (@ianherbs) July 27, 2021
“No injury, thankfully, and that’s why I took a step back because I didn’t want to do something silly out there and get injured,” the superstar gymnast said according to CNN.
“There’s more to life than just gymnastics,” the 24-year-old said, after explaining she wanted to focus on her well-being. “And it is very unfortunate that it had to happen at this stage.”
“I thought it was best if the girls took over and did the rest of the job which they absolutely did,” Biles said of her team. “I just felt like it would be a little bit better to take a back seat and work on my mindfulness. I knew that the girls would do an absolutely great job.”
Biles is scheduled to compete in the women’s all-around competition on Thursday and the four individual events she qualified for. The four-time Olympic gold medalist stated she would “take it one day at a time,” but would not rule out competing in her remaining events.
