US gymnast Simone Biles pulled out of the 2021 Olympics yesterday after suffering 'medical issues' that forced her out of the women’s team gymnastics final. The 24-year-old gymnast was competing on the vault, hoping to win the first of six possible gold medals, but left the arena shortly after making an error during her performance – joined by her trainer and medical staff.
Immediately, her name has began trending on Google - with 'Simone Biles vault' and 'Simone Biles fall Olympics' breakout search terms. Now, Google is awash with questions like 'Why did Simone Biles pull out of the Olympics?', 'What happened to Simone Biles?' and 'Is Simone Biles injured?'. Here's what we know so far...
Why did Simone Biles pull out of the Olympics?
The New York Times confirmed her exit from the American team yesterday afternoon, according to Carol Fabrizio, a U.S.A. Gymnastics spokesperson.
Reporters in Tokyo state that she did not perform the planned routine on vault, stumbling out of the landing and then leaving the competition floor with her team trainer while coach Cecile Landi walked to the next apparatus.
When Biles reappeared on the floor, she walked to the uneven bars where the US team was set to compete but removed her grips for performing on them and instead hugged her teammates – watching them perform their routines from the sidelines.
The US team continued without her, winning silver medals. Biles is the most-decorated US gymnast – and considered the best of all time – winning a total of five Olympic medals – four of them gold – at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.
Is Simone Biles injured?
After Simone was seen leaving the competition floor, her team released a statement explaining that the reason for withdrawal from the US gymnastic team was a 'medical issue'.
Elaborating in a press conference later, Simone explained that 'there was no injury, thankfully,' however cited stress as the reason for her medical intervention.
'That's why I took a step back because I didn't want to do something silly out there and get injured,' Simone explained. 'I thought it was best if these girls took over and did the rest of the job, which they absolutely did.'
The US team went on to win silver, with team GB taking bronze in the gymnastics team final.
'It's been really stressful this Olympic games as a whole,' Simone said. 'It's been a long week, a long Olympic process, a long year. So there were a lot of different variables, and we're just a little bit too stressed out. We should be out here having fun and sometimes that's not the case.'
'I'll usually persevere and push through things,' she concluded. 'But not to cost the team a medal.'
Her grace and nobility in putting her mental health first has been widely commended, with many proud of her for making such a strong statement that regardless of your physical health, mental wellness should always come first.
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