Defending U.S. Olympic champion Simone Biles withdrew from the women’s artistic team all-around gymnastics final in Tokyo on Tuesday.
According to a statement from USA Gymnastics, the 24-year-old gold medallist and most successful gymnast of all time has withdrawn “due to a medical issue,” and “will be assessed daily to determine medical clearance for future competitions.”
In addition, Biles told the BBC, “I’m just dealing with things internally that will get fixed in the next couple of days.”
On the fourth day of the Tokyo Olympics, Biles had started the competition final alongside her teammates on Tuesday at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre, but left the arena after her run on the vault. Biles, who had planned to perform a highly difficult Yurchenko pike with two and a half twists (going further than her history-making version at the U.S. Classic), scored 13.766 on the apparatus, a rare low score for the expert vaulter and the lowest she’s scored on the vault at an Olympic event.
Biles’ withdrawal from the team event was confirmed by USA Gymnastics and event start lists were updated, with gymnast Jordan Chiles replacing Biles alongside teammates Grace McCallum and Sunisa Lee. Biles later rejoined the arena to cheer on her teammates performing their routines.
Team USA went on to win silver at the event, with the Russian Olympic Committee team winning gold, Great Britain taking bronze.
Sunisa Lee, Simone Biles, coach Cecile Landi, and Jordan Chiles of Team USA react during the women’s team final.
Credit: Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images
According to BBC Sport, Biles is due to compete next on Thursday, as she has qualified to perform in all five individual gymnastics finals and defend her title. A two-time Olympian at the Tokyo and Rio Olympics, Biles currently has six Olympic medals (four gold, one silver, one bronze).
Biles has recently posted about feeling pressure at the Tokyo Olympics, writing in an Instagram caption on Monday, “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.”
