Simone Biles to Compete in Olympic Balance Beam Final Tuesday
Olympic gymnast Simone Biles isn’t done competing in the Tokyo Olympics just yet. On Monday morning, USA Gymnastics confirmed that after dropping out of the team and individual all-around finals, Biles will compete in the balance beam finals on Tuesday.
She will compete alongside her teammate Suni Lee, who brought home the gold medal in the individual all-around competition, and who also competed on floor for Biles in the team all-around, helping propel the Americans to a team silver medal.
As of this writing, Biles had not yet commented on her decision to reinstate herself in the competition, but did like several tweets regarding the news.
Biles previously dropped out of her other events, citing the need to focus on her mental health. “I’ve just never felt like this going into a competition before. I tried to go out here and have fun, and warm-up in the back went a little bit better. But once I came out here, I was like, ‘No, mental is not there, so I just need to let the girls do it and just focus on myself,’” Biles said in a press conference.
“She will be assessed daily to determine medical clearance for future competitions,” USA Gymnastics said in a statement after Biles first pulled herself from competition.
“It’s been really stressful, this Olympic games, I think, just as a whole,” Biles added. “Not having an audience, there are a lot of different variables going into it. It’s been a long week, it’s been a long Olympic process, it’s been a long year. So just a lot of different variables, and I think we’re just a little bit too stressed out. But we should be out here having fun, and sometimes that’s not the case.”
After facing some backlash from critics for her decision to pull out of competition, Biles bit back on her Instagram story, making it clear that she didn’t “quit,” but rather was experiencing a phenomena known as “the twisties,” explaining that she got lost in the air.
“My mind and body are simply not in sync,” Biles wrote in her story. “For anyone saying I quit. I didn’t quit. They’re not fun to deal with. It’s honestly petrifying trying to do a skill… not having your mind and body in sync.”.
