These Olympic Games should allow him to continue to write the history of gymnastics. To put his name a little higher, if that is still possible. Already four times Olympic champion and multiple world champion, Simone Biles had yet to raid Tokyo for medals. Tuesday, at the Ariake Gymnastics Center, the 24-year-old American, with Team USA, set out to conquer the team event.
🤸♀️ Complicated reception for Simone Biles on vault!
😑 Is the best gymnast in the world unsettled by the enormous pressure on her shoulders?#Olympic Games # Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/IiansfM3AW
– Eurosport France (@Eurosport_FR) July 27, 2021
And then, patatras. For the first rotation of the day, on the vault, Simone Biles got lost in the air. A figure announced not carried out and an exit on complicated carpet. Result, Biles left with the mask, disappointed, upset, destabilized.
A package for “medical reasons”
A few minutes after leaving the room briefly, she returned with her team, discussed with her teammates, before putting on her tracksuit, to continue the competition as a substitute on the uneven bars and the two other apparatus on the program (floor , beam).
An earthquake in the world of gymnastics, which left everyone speechless. The American Gymnastics Federation quickly drew a press release to explain the reasons for this “package”: “Simone [Biles] withdrew from the team competition for medical reasons. Reviews will be carried out daily to determine if she can receive the medical green light for upcoming competitions. “
According to some American media, Simone Biles is said to have withdrawn from the competition due to the pressure. Confirmation will come from the gymnast a few hours later. “As soon as I step on the mat it’s just me and my head … dealing with demons in my head […] I have to do what’s right for me and focus on my mental health and not compromise my health and well-being, ”she told reporters.
“The weight of the world on my shoulders”
Already on Monday, during qualifying for the all-around competition, Biles appeared unusually feverish and made several mistakes. She still managed to qualify for the six program finals in Tokyo, the individual all-around and the team all-around, as well as the four apparatus finals.
A few hours after these qualifications, she had posted on Instagram a disturbing message for her supporters: “I sometimes feel like I am carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders,” she wrote. I know I make it seem like the pressure isn’t affecting me, but damn, sometimes it’s hard! The Olympics are no joke. “
Before flying to Tokyo, the gymnast had already testified to this pressure in the gymnasiums which was eating her away, when the New York Times asked him about his happiest memory in his career: “Honestly, probably my free time. “