All-around exit ends Biles' era

TOKYO • Four-time Olympic gold medallist Simone Biles will not compete in today's individual all-around competition after withdrawing from the team final on Tuesday because of a mental health issue, according to an official statement from USA Gymnastics.

"Simone will continue to be evaluated daily to determine whether or not to participate in next week's event finals," the body said.

"We wholeheartedly support Simone's decision and applaud her bravery in prioritising her well-being. Her courage shows, yet again, why she is a role model for so many."

Biles, 24, had qualified for all four event finals next week and was expected to win gold in at least three of those events.

In the all-around, she was hoping to repeat her title from the 2016 Rio Games to become the first woman to win back-to-back titles in the event since 1968.

Biles stepping back from the Olympic all-around marks the end of an era in the event.

She has not lost an all-around competition since 2013, when she was 16 and still wore braces.

The contest tests individual athletes on all four disciplines: vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor competition, to determine the most complete gymnast.

While she had come to the Tokyo Olympics feeling "pretty good", the weight of expectations on her as one of biggest stars at the Games became tougher by the day.

In the end, it was just too heavy for her to bear, she said after withdrawing from the team final.

Following the vault, Biles told her coach and a team doctor she was not in the right "head space" to continue because she was afraid of injuring herself, and also because she did not want to jeopardise the team's medal chances.

The United States women's team had dominated the event for more than a decade before the Russians won the gold medal on Tuesday, with the Americans taking silver.

Jade Carey, who had the ninth-highest score in qualifications, will take Biles' place in the all-around final today, and will compete alongside teammate Sunisa Lee.

It remains unclear whether Biles will compete in any of the individual apparatus finals - she is scheduled to defend her golds in the vault and floor exercise - next week.

In the build-up to Tokyo, Biles had struggled with a few skills and was trying to overcome a mental block that kept her from easily performing her routines.

That mental block is not uncommon in gymnastics, Lee's coach Jess Graba said yesterday, but it usually happens at practice and not at a competition.

"I think a lot of people don't realise that it's such a mental sport."

He explained that the mental blocks take a while to work through before a gymnast can begin trusting herself enough to perform her skills again.

Regarding Lee's experience with those mental blocks, Graba added: "If you have a week or two to prepare, you could probably get her back to what she needed to do."

In Biles' case, she did not have two weeks to spare at these Games.

But her decision to step back from competing has continued to draw wide praise from her peers.

Swim great Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian in history with 23 gold medals, said: "I hope this is an eye-opening experience, I really do.

"I hope this is an opportunity for us to jump on board, and to blow this mental health thing even more wide open.

"It is so much bigger than we can ever imagine."

International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said: "What we can all say, regardless of what happened, we have huge respect and support for her. Mental health is an incredibly important issue."

NYTIMES