Simone Biles showed true strength at the Olympics on Tuesday by admitting that she needed to take a step back from competing for the good of her mental health.
On Tuesday, the 24-year-old Olympic gold medalist left the floor at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre during the artistic gymnastics women's team final. After having some difficulties on the vault, she later withdrew from the women's artistic team all-around gymnastics final in Tokyo. Biles spent the rest of the competition on the sidelines cheering on her teammates, who went on to win silver medals in the event.
USA Gymnastics released an initial statement announcing that Biles "withdrew due to a medical issue," but the Olympic champion has since spoken to press and explained that she didn't feel she was in the proper headspace to compete and thought it was best for her and her teammates if she sat the rest of the run out.
Biles also elaborated in a celebratory Instagram post shared on Tuesday afternoon.
"OLYMPIC SILVER MEDALISTS ðŸ¤," Biles wrote alongside a photo of her and her teammates — Jordan Chiles, Grace McCallum, and Sunisa Lee — posing with their silver medals.
"I'm SO proud of these girls right here. You girls are incredibly brave & talented! I'll forever be inspired by your determination to not give up and to fight through adversity!" Biles continued. "They stepped up when I couldn't. thanks for being there for me and having my back! forever love y'all."
In an interview with the New York Times on Tuesday, Biles said, "At the end of the day, I have to do what was right for me. It just sucks that it happened at the Olympic Games."
After withdrawing, sharing her truth, and celebrating her teammates, the gymnast received an outpouring of love, support, and respect from fellow athletes and fans around the world.
Team USA's Sunisa Lee commented on Biles' Instagram post to share these touching words: "love you so much. thank you for inspiring me every single day. you are not only an amazing gymnast but you are also an amazing person. 💕🤞ðŸ¼"
Lee also shared her own sentimental Instagram post and celebrated the team's resilience. "Beyond proud of this team. in my heart, we are winners. we fought til the end and didn't give up. tonight may not have gone how we wanted it to but we stepped up to the plate and give it our all. best team i could’ve asked for. #thefighting4," she wrote alongside a photo of the team with silver medals in hand.
And USA team member Jordan Chiles also chimed in on Biles post to say, "You will forever be loved. We can't thank you enough. You have such a huge inspiration on all of us. We wouldn’t have done it without you🥺💕 love you mo 🤞ðŸ¾â¤ï¸ "
In the past 24 hours, according to Facebook, Biles has been the most mentioned athlete in the United States on both Facebook and Instagram. And her Instagram post above received more than 400,000 in its first hour on the platform.
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She also posted on Twitter and shared a simple silver heart, which has received over 300,000 likes.
Biles' next scheduled competition is on Thursday, but it remains unclear if she will perform.
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