Advertisement

Simone Biles pulls out of Olympic women's team final hours after revealing Instagram post

Watch: Simone Biles appears to struggle with opening vault

Simone Biles has been forced to pull out of the women’s team final and individual all-round final at the Tokyo Games.

On Tuesday, the 24-year-old, the most decorated gymnast in history, withdrew from the team event after a mistake on the vault in the opening stages of the final, which saw her record a rare low score after years of domination in the sport.

She briefly left the arena with her trainer and US medical staff, before returning to cheer on her team-mates.

Biles has since stepped back from the individual all-round final due to take place on Thursday having said she wants to prioritise her mental health.

"After the performance I did, I just didn't want to go on," she said on Tuesday. "I have to focus on my mental health. I just think mental health is more prevalent in sports right now.

"We have to protect our minds and our bodies and not just go out and do what the world wants us to do."

TOKYO, JAPAN - JULY 27: Simone Biles of Team United States stumbles upon landing after competing in vault during the Women's Team Final on day four of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Centre on July 27, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Simone Biles stumbles upon landing after competing in vault during the Women's Team Final on day four of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. (Getty Images)

"I don't trust myself as much anymore. Maybe it's getting older.

"We're not just athletes. We're people at the end of the day and sometimes you just have to step back."

Biles's exit comes hours after she took to Instagram to post a message saying she had “the weight of the world on my shoulders at times” after reaching five individual finals.

Click here for the complete medal table of the Tokyo Olympic Games

She added: "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! BUT I’m happy my family was able to be with me virtually they mean the world to me!”

Biles decision to withdraw from the individual all-round final means she will not be successful in her attempt to become the first women to defend the Olympic all-round gold medal since 1968.

She is now due to compete in five individual finals next week, though she is believed to be evaluating whether or not to take part in them on a daily basis.

The finals of the vault and uneven bars are on Sunday, the floor on Monday and beam on Tuesday.

Her shock exit - couple with the Instagram post and her unsteady performance on the vault, which is the lowest score she had recorded on that apparatus in her Olympics career - has revealed the pressures some of the world’s top sporting stars face at these Games.

Biles has received widespread support for taking the decision to step back and prioritise her mental health.

Earlier on Monday, Naomi Osaka, the poster girl of the Tokyo Olympics, exited at the third round stage in the women’s tennis singles.

Asked whether pressure had played a part in her defeat, she said: “Yes and no.

“I feel like I should be used to it by now but at the same time, I think the scale of everything is a bit hard because of the break that I took.”

Osaka, who lit the Olympic flame on Friday, was competing in her first tournament after withdrawing from the French Open in June.

She revealed that she had "suffered long bouts of depression" after claiming her first major title in 2018.

Watch: The Olympian abandoned by his beloved mum aged six... for his own good