Simone Biles set to return to Olympic competition in beam final
Simone Biles is back!
After withdrawing from the team gymnastics final, as well as each of the individual events thus far, the four-time Olympic gold medalist will return to the competition floor for Tuesday's beam final alongside Team USA's breakout star, Sunisa Lee.
Biles, who this year became the first woman since 1992 to reach the final in all six possible events — team, individual all-around, vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor — withdrew from the other five events, citing concerns about her mental health.
"We remain in awe of Simone, who continues to handle this situation with courage and grace, and all of the athletes who have stepped up during these unexpected circumstances," USA Gymnastics said in a statement Friday.
In Biles' absence, MyKayla Skinner competed in the vault final, in which she won the silver medal. Jade Carey replaced Biles in the all-around event, won by Lee. (France‘s Melanie de Jesus Dos Santos and Great Britain’s Jennifer Gadirova moved into Biles' spots in the uneven bars and floor events.)
Biles initially removed herself from the competition during the American team’s first vault rotation after she attempted an Amanar, a difficult vault with 2.5 twists, and lost control midair. She completed 1.5 turns and lurched forward upon landing. After consulting with her coach and a team doctor, Biles made the decision to withdraw after her score of 13.766 put the U.S. in a hole against the Russians. In the end, the U.S. won the silver medal after finishing more than three points behind the gold-medalist Russians, 169.528 to 166.096.
During her absence from the competition floor, Biles hasn't missed a beat in cheering on Team USA from the sideline.
On Friday, Biles took to social media to reveal the issue that she says has plagued her since she arrived in Tokyo, sharing that her "mind and body are simply not in sync." The phenomenon, called "the twisties," happens when gymnasts feel like they get lost in the air, which Biles said "randomly started happening after prelims competition the very next morning."
When asked to elaborate on what "the twisties" feels like, Biles said, "Literally cannot tell up from down. It's the craziest feeling ever. Not having an inch of control over your body. What's even scarier is since I have no idea where I am in the air I also have NO idea how I'm going to land, or what I'm going to land on. Head/hands/feet/back.
"I also have no idea how I landed on my feet on that vault because if you look at the pictures and my eyes you can see how confused I am as to where I am in the air. Thankfully I landed safe enough but I also don't think some of you realize I was supposed to do a 2½ and I only completed 1½ twists before it looks like I got shot out of the air."
The 24-year-old sensation qualified for the beam final with a score of 14.066. Biles comes into the event having finished seventh in qualifying, while Lee, who had the second-best balance beam score in both the individual all-around and team competitions, finished third in qualifying.
The balance beam competition begins at 4:50 a.m. ET Tuesday, between the men’s parallel bars final at 4 a.m. ET and the men’s horizontal bar final at 5:39 a.m. ET.
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