Simone: ‘Sometimes it’s hard’
TOKYO – Simone Biles really is human.
A day after she and the U.S. women struggled in qualifying, finishing second for the first time since the 2010 world championships, Biles acknowledged struggling with the weight of the expectations on her.
“It wasn’t an easy day or my best but I got through it,” she said in an Instagram post. “I truly do feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders at times. I know I brush it off and make it seem like pressure doesn’t affect me but damn sometimes it’s hard hahaha! The Olympics is no joke!”
Biles also posted several photos of herself making faces during Sunday’s competition to her IG Story.
Biles is the greatest gymnast the sport has seen and, with Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt now retired, the biggest star of the Tokyo Olympics. She’s expected to win five gold medals, which would not only be a record for a U.S. woman, it would tie her with Larisa Latynina for the most golds by any female athlete.
She’s a heavy favorite to become the first woman in more than 50 years to repeat as Olympic champion. And with her leading the way, the U.S. women were expected to cruise to their third consecutive Olympic title.
But Biles and the Americans had a rough day in qualifying Sunday, finishing more than a point behind Russia. Biles almost bounced off the podium on floor exercise, landed one of her vaults out of bounds and staggered backward three steps on her balance beam dismount.
She still topped the all-around standings and qualified for all four event finals. But she only made the beam final because of the two-percountry rule and was second on floor, where she is the five-time world champion and reigning Olympic gold medalist.