Biles bows out of floor final

Star from Spring, still struggling mentally with ‘twisties,’ now down to making decision on balance beam later in the week

TOKYO — Simone Biles has withdrawn from Monday’s event final on floor exercise and will decide later in the week whether to compete in the balance beam final, USA Gymnastics said Sunday.

The federation announced Biles’ decision in a brief Twitter message that ended, “Either way, we’re all behind you, Simone.”

Biles, 24, withdrew from the women’s team final on Tuesday after she struggled to control her air space orientation on vault, the night’s opening event. The U.S. women went on to win a silver medal.

She also withdrew from the Thursday night individual allaround, which she won in 2016. Sunisa Lee of St. Paul, Minn., won that event, the fifth consecutive U.S. athlete to do so.

Saturday, USA Gymnastics said Biles, a Spring resident, would not compete in the Sunday night event finals on vault, which she won at the 2016 Olympics, and uneven bars.

Biles continues to use her Instagram account to pass along her thoughts to followers as she struggles with what gymnasts describe as the “twisties.”

Her latest post Saturday was a video showing tilted views of the Olympic Village towers and the Olympic rings, perhaps an indication of the disorientation she feels because of her inability to judge her position relative to the floor when she is in the air.

Those clips were followed by a drawing with the phrase “I am allowed to have boundaries and not feel bad” and screen shots of two other phrases.

They were “We rise by lifting others” and “Always take a moment to celebrate the beautiful woman you’ve become: the obstacles you’ve overcame, the silent battles you’ve fought and the hard decisions you’ve had to make. Celebrate your strength and resilience.”