Simone Biles has withdrawn from the gymnastics floor exercise final.
Simone Biles has withdrawn from her third individual apparatus final of the Olympics, leaving only one event where she can choose to compete …
Simone Biles has withdrawn from her third individual apparatus final of the Olympics, leaving only one event where she can choose to compete.
Biles on Sunday withdrew from the floor exercise final, which was scheduled for Monday, U.S.A. Gymnastics said in a statement. She had previously said that she would not compete in the uneven bars or vault finals, which are scheduled for Sunday night.
Her last potential event in the Tokyo Games would be the balance beam, and U.S.A. Gymnastics said she would make a decision soon.
“Either way, we’re all behind you, Simone,” the organization said in a statement.
MyKayla Skinner, another American, will take Biles’s place in the vault final. On the floor exercise, Jennifer Gadirova of Britain will move into Biles’s spot.
Biles, the most decorated gymnast in history, was expected to repeat as all-around champion, but she withdrew from the all-around and the team final last week, citing mental health issues. She said that she was not mentally prepared to compete and that she was also dealing with a common gymnastics problem of her losing bearings while performing daring maneuvers in the air.
She exited the team final after the vault, and was in the stands to watch her teammate Sunisa Lee win the all-around. Lee was the fifth straight American woman to win that event, following Carly Patterson in 2004, Nastia Liukin in 2008, Gabby Douglas in 2012 and Biles in 2016.
Lee’s next chance at a medal will be on Sunday in the uneven bars, her best event.