'Supporting the guys and gals - go USA!' Simone Biles cheers on gymnastics teammates while sitting in the stands after bowing out of the floor exercise event as Olympic champ ponders future
Simone Biles took a back seat in the gymnastics arena in Tokyo on Sunday as she slipped inside to support US teammates.
The troubled athlete donned a black safety face mask as she took a third row seat above the gymnasium floor on the day she revealed she had withdrawn from another event, the floor exercise, for which she is the current champion.
Simone, wearing a Team US Olympic T-shirt, black training bottoms and white sneakers, sat with Jordan Chiles and Grace McCallum as they cheered on the other athletes.
The star, from Spring, Texas, has brought herself time to ponder her Olympic future after declaring she is suffering mental health problems.
But she has stayed very much in the limelight, attending gymnastics and updating her six million followers on Instagram.
Simone Biles took a back seat in the gymnastics arena in Tokyo on Sunday as she slipped inside to support US teammates. Biles is seen sandwiched between gymnastics teammates Jordan Chiles (left) and Grace McCallum (right)
The troubled athlete donned a black safety face mask as she took a third row seat above the gymnasium floor on the day she revealed she had withdrawn from another event, the floor exercise, for which she is the current champion
Biles and other members of the American delegation stand and cheer during the women's vault final in Tokyo on Sunday
On Sunday, she even posted a picture of the arena which helped give the scores of photographers her precise seating position, which was tucked well away from US officials. She wrote: ‘Supporting the guys and gals – go USA.'
On Sunday, she even posted a picture of the arena which helped give the scores of photographers her precise seating position, which was tucked well away from US officials.
She wrote: ‘Supporting the guys and gals – go USA.'
As America’s Mykayla Skinner became the first athlete to attempt the vault, Simone removed her mask and was see shouting ‘Let’s go Mykala!'
Jade Carey was also in the vault line ups for the US while Sunisa Lee was battling for her second gold in Tokyo in the final of the women’s uneven bars.
When Mykayla, who replaced Simone in the vault discipline, landed after her first attempt, Simone shouted ‘You got this, Mykayla.’
As she completed her second vault, Simone removed her mask and rose to her feet to applaud the 21-year-old who took her place.
As America’s Mykayla Skinner became the first athlete to attempt the vault, Simone removed her mask and was see shouting ‘Let’s go Mykala!'
Skinner managed to take home a silver medal after reaching the women's vault final in Tokyo on Sunday
Skinner's (left) jumps landed her the silver with gold going to Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade (center) and bronze to Korea’s Seojeong Yeo (right)
Biles makes a heart gesture with her hands while Chiles (left) and McCallum applaud Skinner's performance on Sunday
But her jumps landed her the silver with gold going to Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade and bronze to Korea’s Seojeong Yeo.
Simone picked up her cell phone several times to check it, in between the athletes’ vaults and sipped from a bottle of water.
Jade finished eighth place.
Biles may have performed at an Olympics for the last time as she tonight decided against defending another of her gold medals.
On Saturday evening, she told Team US officials that she could not participate in the floor final event, leaving just one more discipline with her name on the start list.
Simone, 24, had already quit the uneven bars, vault, individual all-round and dropped out of the team event after just one attempt at the vault.
USA Gymnastics coaches and officials are 'uncertain' whether she will appear on the beam, in Tuesday's final event and if she does withdraw, Olympic fans may never see her again at a games.
By the time the Olympics kick-off in Paris in 2024, she will be 27-years-old and Simone has told friends that her current age - she is the oldest US woman gymnast in Tokyo - has already added to the 'demons' which have affected her in Japan.
Biles may have performed at an Olympics for the last time as she tonight decided against defending another of her gold medals
On Saturday evening, she told Team US officials that she could not participate in the floor final event, leaving just one more discipline with her name on the start list
USA Gymnastics coaches and officials are 'uncertain' whether she will appear on the beam, in Tuesday's final event and if she does withdraw, Olympic fans may never see her again at a games
She is full of doubt additionally over whether she can perform to her best and is suffering what gymnasts call the 'twistiess', where athletes lose focus and fear leaping through the air in disciplines and with little confidence .
Tonight USA Gymnastics said: 'Simone has withdrawn from the event final for floor and will make a decision on beam later this week.'
In a show of support for the worried athlete, the officials added: 'Either way, we are all behind you Simone.'
Simone, herself in one of her latest Instagram posts, said: 'I am allowed to have boundaries and not feel bad. '
A friend of the six time Olympic medal winner Kevin Waterman posted a public message if support of Simone, which she responded with the message : ’Tears are pouring out of my eyes. I can’t help it.’
Biles is pictured competing in the vault event of the artistic gymnastics women's team final earlier this week
'I also have no idea how I landed on my feet on the vault. If you look at the pictures and my eyes you can see how confused I am as to where I am in the air,' Biles wrote online
Biles stunned spectators when she fumbled on her vault - which is usually one of her strongest events - and she later revealed it was the result of the twisties
Kevin Waterman, who studied at the University of Michigan and who is followed on Instagram by Simone wrote: ‘Thank you for being you and for staying true to yourself, for always being there, and for setting a better example than any medal ever could.’
Simone added: ‘I have the best friends/support system. This post was so sweet…made me cry.’ She included a heart emoji in her response and a picture of her with her friend.
She added in a separate message: ‘ Always take a moment to celebrate the beautiful woman you’ve become. The obstacles you’ve overcome, the silent battles you’ve fought and the hard decisions you’ve had to make.Celebrate your strength and resilience.’
Biles, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, laid bare her current below-standard ability in a series on Instagram on Friday. She also opened up about her mental health struggles and battle with the 'twisties' - a mental phenomenon that causes gymnasts to feel as though they are 'lost in the air'.
Biles first indicated that she was suffering from the twisties after she pulled out of the team final on Tuesday following an uncharacteristic error on the vault, which saw her bail out of her skill mid-air before struggling to land on her feet.
Biles, 24, shared video of herself practicing her uneven bars routine during training in Tokyo, in which she is seen executing several moves with no issue - before then plummeting to the mat
Simone Biles, 24, has shared more details about her mental health issues and struggle with the 'twisties', an issue that causes gymnasts to feel 'lost in the air' and can result in horrific injury
Speaking about the moment on Instagram, she revealed that her wobbly landing was actually the best case scenario, revealing that she could well have fallen onto her head or neck and ended up with a horrific injury.
'I also have no idea how I landed on my feet on the vault,' she said. 'If you look at the pictures and my eyes you can see how confused I am as to where I am in the air.
'Thankfully I landed safe enough but I also don't think some of you realize I was supposed to do a 2 1/2 and I only completed a 1 1/2 twist before it looks like I've got shot out of the air.'
She said her team mates were 'Queens' for continuing without her and landing the silver medal.
Simone added it was 'unfortunate' that she would be expected to perform during her Olympic routines ' a ton of twists on each event.'
She slammed those who have criticized her for pulling out of the team and all-around finals, insisting that her mental health struggles are real and very dangerous
During her practice, she managed to execute one-and-a-half twists before falling backwards, a mishap that was caused by the twisties, which she said started after the qualification event
Viewers were invited to witness a training calamity, which was filmed on Friday in Tokyo.
In her Instagram video, Simone is seen going through her routine on the uneven bars during training - however when she performs her dismount, which requires her to twist her body around in the air, she failed to land on her feet and instead crashed to the mat, falling flat on her back.
Biles' usual dismount - a double twisting somersault - requires her to complete two twists in the air before landing on her feet, facing away from the bars.
However, in one of the videos that she posted, the gymnast only managed to complete half of a twist, before plummeting to the mat and landing flat on her back. A second clip showed her completing one-and-a-half twists, before making the same crash landing.
Such a fault which would cost her heavily in points in Olympic competition if she were to resume her dreams of adding to the four golds and one silver she secured in Rio five years ago.
The twisties can also result in serious injury, leaving gymnasts unable to spot their landing correctly and therefore leaving them at risk of a dangerous fall.
Speaking about the struggle with the issue in the caption of her videos, Biles hit out at those who have criticized her decision to withdraw from both the team and all-around finals, insisting that she did not 'quit', while noting that mental health is just as serious as physical health.
'For anyone saying I quit. I didn't quit, my mind and body are simply not in sync,' she wrote.
'As you can see [in the video]. I don't think you realize how hard this is on hard/competition surface.
'Nor do I have to explain why I put health first. Physical health is mental health.'
When asked by one of her near-six million followers whether she has struggled with the twisties before, Biles admitted that she has experienced the mental issue in the past, adding that it is a 'petrifying' sensation.
'I have experienced them before,' she wrote. 'They are not fun to deal with. It's honestly petrifying trying to do a skill but not having your mind and body in sync. 10/10 do not recommend.'
However, Biles confessed that the mental block has only ever affected her performance on floor exercise and vault and has never been an issue for her on all four events - which is what started happening when she arrived in Tokyo.
'It's never transferred to bars and beam before for me it's strictly like floor and vault. Go figure, the scariest two,' she explained. 'But this time it's literally on every event, which sucks... really bad.'
Biles admitted during her Q&A that she has no idea how long it will take her to overcome her mental block - confessing that it could well be a much longer process than she has time for ahead of the upcoming finals.
'Unfortunately it varies with time,' she wrote. 'Typically for me it's usually two or more weeks when I've had them before. Honestly no telling/time frame, [it's] something you have to take literally day by day, turn by turn.'
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