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| She left the arena but returned to support her teammates as the defending champions claimed silver behind the Russian Olympic Committee. She left the arena but returned to support her teammates as the defending champions claimed silver behind the Russian Olympic Committee. (Photo from abcnews) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] American gymnast and four-time Olympic gold medallist Simone Biles has withdrawn from Thursday's individual all-around final in Tokyo, BBC reported. Biles, the most successful US gymnast of all time, said she had to focus on her mental health after pulling out of the women's team final on Tuesday.
The US Olympic team’s head and fellow athletes praised Biles' decision to prioritize her mental wellbeing. The 24-year-old has reached all five individual finals in Tokyo. She’s due to defend her all-around title on Thursday before competing in the finals of the vault and uneven bars on Sunday, 1 August, floor on Monday, 2 August and beam on Tuesday, 3 August. USA Gymnast said: "Simone will continue to be evaluated daily to determine whether or not to participate in next week's individual event finals.
Biles scored her lowest Olympic vault score in the opening rotation before withdrawing from the team final. Team silver in Tokyo was Biles' sixth Olympic medal and took her tally of Olympic and World Championship medals to 30. Several athletes praised Biles, including Jamaican gymnast Danusia Francis who said: "Don't know about you but I think Simone Biles just empowered everyone to put their mental wellbeing above everything else. What a queen. GOAT in more ways than one."
