
"I got a lot of great comments in like a lot of outpouring support and love, but I also got a lot of bad stuff and it's like, you guys have no idea what we're going through," she said. And then this happens, and it's something that was so out of my control."īiles also said her aunt died unexpectedly last week. "And that was really hard because it's like, I trained the whole life. Like, what happened? Was I overtired? And just like, where did the wires not connect? "My problem was why my body and my mind weren't in sync, and that's what I couldn't wrap my head around. "I was OK with missing finals because I knew I couldn't do it," she said Tuesday.
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In a series of posts to her Instagram account Friday, Biles explained she was still experiencing the phenomenon in which gymnasts feel like they get lost in the air, and said her "mind and body are simply not in sync." She had withdrawn from the team final July 27, following the first event on vault, and said she had experienced "a little bit of the twisties" and no longer trusted her ability to compete.īiles later opted out of the all-around competition, as well as the three other event finals. She qualified for all individual events, including in first place in the all-around, last week. The reigning Olympic titleholder in the all-around, as well as on vault and floor, and a 15-time individual world champion, Biles was widely expected to win multiple gold medals entering the Games. She received a 14.000, finishing behind Chenchen Guan (14.633) and Xijing Tang (14.233), both of China. She blew kisses to the crowd at its conclusion. "And there are things going on behind the scenes that we're also trying to juggle with as well, on top of sports."īiles, 24, displayed a slightly altered and less difficult routine than the one she performed during qualifying, but was solid throughout and needed just a small hop on her double pike dismount. "We're not just entertainment, we're humans," she said. Biles chatted briefly with IOC President Thomas Bach after accepting the medal and then wiped away tears. It was the seventh career Olympic medal for Biles, who tied with Shannon Miller for the most by an American in gymnastics. I was just going out there doing this for me." And I wasn't expecting to walk away with the medal.

So to be clear, to do beam, which I didn't think I was going to be, just meant the world to be back out there. "My mental and physical health is above all medals that I could ever win. "People just thought it was easy, but I physically and mentally was not in the right head space, and I didn't want to jeopardize my health and my safety because at the end of the day, it's not worth it. "It wasn't easy pulling out of all those competitions," Biles said. She was greeted by a huge ovation from her teammates and hundreds in the Ariake Gymnastics Centre and went third of eight competitors on the event. TOKYO - Simone Biles closed out her 2020 Olympic Games with a bronze medal on the balance beam.Īfter missing the finals on vault, uneven bars and floor exercise, as well as the all-around, Biles made her return to competition Tuesday - the last day of events for artistic gymnastics. Simone Biles returns to gymnastics competition at Tokyo Olympics, wins bronze medal on balance beam
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One month later, she was hospitalized for a week after catching the coronavirus and pneumonia, which cost her more than a month of training leading up to the Olympic trials.You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser In December, Skinner injured her Achilles, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. She left Utah for her home state of Arizona to train, but vowed to return to finish her degree in communications after the Olympics, the Salt Lake Tribune reported in 2019.īut the COVID-19 pandemic put the 2020 Olympics on hold, forcing athletes to train for an additional year before the games ultimately began in late July. In 2019, Skinner decided to defer her senior year so she could prepare for the 2020 summer games. Skinner also made the dean's list and the athletic director's honor roll her junior year.

She went on to become NCAA gold medalist on the vault and floor and brought home the silver for the all-around. She began her freshman year at the University of Utah in 2017, where she rediscovered her love for gymnastics.

She said the money she would have made paled in comparison to a college degree. But doing so would have left her unable to compete at the college level, the Salt Lake Tribune reported in 2017. After the 2016 games, Skinner could have ridden the coattails of the gold-medal team, despite her position as an alternate, by accepting a paid position as a professional.
