TOKYO — American gymnast Simone Biles has withdrawn from the individual finals for vault and uneven bars at the Tokyo Games, and her status for floor exercise and balance beam will be determined in the next few days, USA Gymnastics said Friday night.
Biles, 24, had already withdrawn from the team and individual all-around finals at the Olympics in order to focus on mental health concerns.
American Sunisa Lee won gold in the individual all-around finals.
Biles, who captured four gold medals, including the all-around title, at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, qualified to compete in the vault and uneven bars, which are scheduled for Sunday, ESPN reported. The floor exercise is set for Monday and the balance beam si scheduled for Tuesday. Biles has not said whether she would compere in Tuesday’s finals.
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In its statement, USA Gymnastics said MyKayla Skinner, who had the fourth-highest score in vault, will compete in the final with Jade Carey, who finished second.
After further consultation with medical staff, Simone Biles has decided to withdraw from the event finals for vault and the uneven bars. She will continue to be evaluated daily to determine whether to compete in the finals for floor exercise and balance beam. pic.twitter.com/kWqgZJK4LJ
— USA Gymnastics (@USAGym) July 31, 2021
“We remain in awe of Simone, who continues to handle this situation with courage and grace, and all of the athletes who have stepped up during these unexpected circumstances,” USA Gymnastics said in a statement.
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Biles qualified for all four of the apparatus finals, becoming the first woman since 1992 to advance to the final in all six possible Olympic events — the team final, individual all-around final and the vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor event finals, NBC Sports reported. The women’s floor final is on Monday and the beam final on Tuesday.
An update on Simone Biles:
— #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) July 31, 2021
Just announced on NBC, Simone Biles withdraws from the Uneven Bars and Vault events. She will be replaced in Vault by MyKayla Skinner.
It is still unclear if she will compete in the other two individual events she's eligible for. #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/bmMuyOHqFI
USA Gymnastics said MyKayla Skinner, who had the fourth-highest score in the vault, will compete in the final with Jade Carey, who finished second.
The U.S. finished the team gymnastics event in second to win the silver medal with a score of 166.096. The Russian Olympic Committee team took gold with a score of 169.528, while Great Britain won bronze.
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Biles pulled out of Tuesday’s team competition shortly after the U.S. women completed their first rotation on vault.
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