Simone’s agony
And the pressure of sports
She’s perhaps the most talented gymnast who has ever lived, the star of Team USA, and the face of the Olympics coverage of NBC — who had her posing with an actual goat in one advertisement.
But even “the Greatest Of All Time” have off days, as Simone Biles made apparent in a shocking moment Tuesday morning, withdrawing from the team competition in Tokyo because of the emotional toll of expectations.
“There’s more to life than just gymnastics,” Biles told reporters at a press conference alongside her teammates, who earned the silver medal following her departure.
“It’s very unfortunate that it happened at this stage, because I definitely wanted it to go a little bit better. [I will] take it one day at a time and we’re gonna see how the rest goes.”
Biles says she was inspired to “focus on my well-being” by Japanese tennis star
Naomi Osaka, who withdrew from the French Open in May and skipped Wimbledon earlier this month for mentalhealth reasons.
Osaka was eliminated earlier Tuesday in the third round of the women’s tennis singles event.
USA Gymnastics said earlier Tuesday in a statement that Biles’ withdrawal following her vault rotation was due to an unspecified “medical issue,” adding that she “will be assessed daily to determine medical clearance for future competitions.”
The four-time Olympic gold medalist admitted her only injury was “just a little to my pride.” Biles, 24, also said she’s been “dealing with some things internally which will get fixed out in the next couple of days.”
She indicated that she plans to compete in the all-around competition that begins Thursday and the individual apparatus events, although her participation hardly can be considered a certainty following Tuesday’s events.
“Physically, I feel good, I’m in shape,” Biles told NBC’s Hoda Kotb afterward. “Emotionally, that kind of varies on the time and the moment. Coming here to the Olympics and being the head star of the Olympics is not an easy feat.
“I’m OK, just super-frustrated of how the night went, but super proud of these girls and now we’re silver medalists. Something we’ll cherish forever. We hope America still loves us.”
Following a substandard performance in the team qualifying round, Biles had acknowledged Monday via Instagram that she was feeling the “weight of the world on my shoulders” amid the expectations to add to her legacy as the most decorated gymnast of all time, winning 30 combined medals between the Olympics and World Championships in her storied career.
After Biles committed a couple of uncharacteristic errors on floor exercise and vault in Sunday’s qualifying round, the heavily favored US team trailed the eventual gold-winning Russian Olympic Committee squad, although those scores didn’t carry over to the finals. Biles scored a subpar 13.766 on her vault Tuesday morning, opening up early out of a twist and taking a large hop forward upon landing.
“After the performance I did, I just didn’t want to go on,” Biles said. “I have to focus on my mental health.
“I just don’t trust myself as much anymore. I don’t know if it’s age, I’m just more nervous when I do gymnastics. I feel like I’m also not having as much fun. I know this Olympic Games, I wanted it to be for myself. I’m still doing it for other people. And that hurts my heart that doing what I love has been taken away from me.”
Following her vault error, Biles left the event floor at Ariake Gymnastics
Center. She was replaced during the second apparatus rotation — the uneven bars — by 20-year-old reserve Jordan Chiles. Biles returned later to the sidelines wearing a Team USA warm-up suit to support her teammates, as Chiles and 18-year-olds Sunisa Lee and Grace McCallum held off Great Britain to earn the silver medal.
“There were a couple of days when everybody tweets you and you feel the weight of the world,” Biles said. “We’re not just athletes. We’re people at the end of the day and sometimes you just have to step back . . . I feel like a lot of athletes speaking up has really helped.
“It’s so big, it’s the Olympic Games. At the end of the day we don’t want to be carried out of there on a stretcher. You have to be there 100 percent or 120 percent or you’re going to hurt yourself.”