Reigning Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles says she withdrew from the team finals in Tokyo because of mental health concerns. <\/p>\n
An emotional Biles broke down in tears after the United States claimed a silver medal in the event.<\/p>\n
"Whenever you get in a high stress situation you kind of freak out," she said. "I have to focus on my mental health and not jeopardize my health and wellbeing."<\/p>\n
"We have to protect our body and our mind.<\/p>\n
"It just sucks when you're fighting with your own head.<\/p>\n
"For me, I'm proud for how the girls stepped up and did what they had to do. I owe this to the girls, it has nothing to do with me. I am very proud of them."<\/p>\n
The 24-year-old U.S. star, considered to be one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, was seen huddling with a trainer after landing awkwardly off the vault. She then exited the competition floor with the team doctor.<\/p>\n
Biles returned several minutes later with her right leg wrapped. She took off her bar grips, and hugged teammates Grace McCallum, Sunisa Lee and Jordan Chiles before putting on a jacket and sweatpants. She did not warm up for the uneven bars.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Americans were forced to finish the rest of the competition without her, severely hampering their bid to claim a third straight Olympic title.<\/p>\n
They eventually finished second behind the Russian Federation.<\/p>\n
Biles had bailed on her planned Amanar vault, opting for an easier one in mid-air and then struggling with the landing, in a rare miscue by the Olympic champion.<\/p>\n
The American star looked concerned as she was comforted by trainers following the precarious landing, with reports Biles had been carrying a minor ankle injury into the Games.<\/p>\n
USA Gymnastics released a statement confirming Biles' immediate withdrawal from the evening's action.<\/p>\n
"Simone Biles has withdrawn from the team final competition due to a medical issue," the statement read.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
"She will be assessed daily to determine medical clearance for future competitions."<\/p>\n
Biles' former teammate Aly Raisman was stunned by the development.<\/p>\n
"Simone is human. She has pains like all of us. When i saw her with the medic, my heart dropped. I was just devastated – still am," she said on NBC.<\/p>\n
Biles arrived in Tokyo as the unquestioned star of the Games but struggled, at least by her high standards, during qualifying.<\/p>\n
She revealed a piece of telling insight on Instagram following the event, showcasing a more candid side to the superstar.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
– with AP<\/em><\/p>\n For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here!<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Reigning Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles says she withdrew from the team finals in Tokyo because of mental health concerns. An emotional Biles broke down […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106482"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=106482"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106484,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106482\/revisions\/106484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=106482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=106482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=106482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}