Biles in second pull-out
TOKYO — Superstar gymnast Simone Biles yesterday pulled out of a second event to protect her mental health, putting the spotlight on athletes’ wellbeing at a Tokyo Olympics held under strict rules to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Biles, who caused shockwaves with her withdrawal during the team event on Tuesday, also ditched the allaround, raising doubts about her further participation in Tokyo.
The 24-year-old American’s struggles follow those of Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka, another face of the Games who lost in the third round on her return from a mental health break.
They overshadowed another busy day at the delayed 2020 Games, where US swimming great Katie Ledecky bounced back from her second defeat by Australia’s Ariarne Titmus to win her first gold in Tokyo.
Biles, unbeaten in all-around competition since 2013 and widely touted as the “GOAT” (Greatest Of All Time), arrived seeking five Olympic titles to equal Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina’s career record of nine.
But this week she complained she had “the weight of the world on my shoulders” and withdrew after a single, shaky vault in the team competition. Attention will now focus on whether she will compete in her four remaining individual events.
Biles is not alone in suffering mental problems, and several athletes have complained of difficulties during coronavirus lockdowns. Australian basketball star Liz Cambage was one who skipped Tokyo fearing its “terrifying” living conditions.
Yesterday, Dutch athletes in quarantine in Tokyo after testing positive revealed they staged a sit-in strike over the harsh conditions, eventually earning the concession of being able to stand at an open window for 15 minutes a day.
“Not having any outside air is so inhuman, and it is mentally super-draining,” said street skateboarder Candy Jacobs, while taekwondo fighter Reshmie Oogink called it “Olympic jail”.
International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said support measures included psychologists in the Athletes’ Village and phone helplines.
“That became more urgent obviously with the COVID-19 pandemic, so we’ve been working on that quite a lot,” he said.
Elsewhere Ledecky, who won four gold medals at the Rio 2016 Games, lost her 200m freestyle crown to Titmus, two days after also ceding her 400m title to the Australian.
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