Biles, USA Gymnastics pull out of World Cup meet
Four-time gold medalist continues training; water polo, wrestling call off competitions
Four-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles will not compete at the International Gymnastics Federation’s World Cup in Tokyo next month, and USA Gymnastics has extended its cancellation of all events and sanctioned meets through May 10.
Biles, 23, of Spring was scheduled to compete for the first time this year April 4-5 in Tokyo, site of the 2020 Olympic Games, However, USA Gymnastics will not send competitors to that event in the wake of concerns related to the spread of the new coronavirus.
Three-time Olympian Sam Mikulak also was scheduled to compete at the Tokyo event and will not attend.
Biles continues to work out at the Biles family’s World Champions Centre in Montgomery County, and her likely 2020 competitive debut now could be the May 22-23 U.S. Classic in Hartford, Conn.
USA Gymnastics said Monday it has canceled its men’s and women’s Junior Olympic championships but still plan to stage events in late May and beyond, including the U.S. Classic, the national championships June 4-7 in Fort Worth and the Olympic trials from June 17-21 in St. Louis.
Elsewhere around the Olympics:
• The leader of the IOC’s coordination commission for the Tokyo Olympics says there is no May deadline to cancel the games, and he remains confident the event will go ahead despite sports coming to a virtual standstill globally amid the coronavirus outbreak. John Coates, who will have to go into government-mandated self-isolation when he returns to Australia this week from Olympic business in Europe, told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper: “It’s all proceeding to start on the 24th of July.”
• USA Water Polo canceled a key tournament set to begin in late April in Indianapolis. The U.S. men and women already qualified for the Olympics, but the the 2020 FINA Men’s and Women’s Intercontinental Tournament would have been been one of their biggest warmups for the Tokyo Games.
• USA Wrestling postponed all regional and national events through April 20, including the Olympic trials, which were set for April 4-5 in State College, Pa.