Simone Biles has withdrawn from two of the four individual women’s gymnastics events, vault and the uneven bars, USA Gymnastics said.
Biles, arguably the world’s greatest gymnast, has pulled back from the Olympic competition in Tokyo to focus on her mental health. She explained in a series of Instagram posts that she has the twisties, a mental block in gymnastics where competitors lose track of their positioning midair.
USA team said Biles will be evaluated daily to determine whether she can compete in the final two individual disciplines, floor and balance beam.
Women’s vault and bars finals are scheduled for Sunday, the women’s floor final is Monday, and the beam final is Tuesday.
After further consultation with medical staff, Simone Biles has decided to withdraw from the event finals for vault and the uneven bars. She will continue to be evaluated daily to determine whether to compete in the finals for floor exercise and balance beam. pic.twitter.com/kWqgZJK4LJ
— USA Gymnastics (@USAGym) July 31, 2021