Putting ‘Mental Health First,’ Biles Withdraws from Team Competition
Day five of Tokyo 2020 is underway with Simone Biles deciding to withdraw from Thursday’s women’s all-around final.
The 24-year-old pulled out after one rotation of the women’s team final on Tuesday in Tokyo, citing mental health concerns. USA Gymnastics said Biles is yet to decide whether to withdraw from her four individual finals, which are scheduled to take place next week.
In a statement, USA Gymnastics said: “After further medical evaluation, Simone Biles has withdrawn from the final individual all-around competition. 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.”
Elsewhere, swimming great Katie Ledecky again suffered a shock defeat to Australian Ariarne Titmus in the 200m freestyle final, after Titmus also won the 400m earlier this week in dramatic fashion. Ledecky had one more chance in the inaugural Olympic 1500m event, and this time she didn’t disappoint, clinching gold in Tokyo at the third time of asking.
Back over at the gymnastics Daiki Hashimoto continued his stratospheric rise with gold in the men’s individual all-around. The US men’s basketball team bounced back from their defeat to France as they ran up the score with a 120-66 win over Iran before USA and Latvia won the inaugural 3x3 basketball finals in the women’s and men’s tournaments respectively
