What happened to Simone Biles at the Tokyo Olympics women’s gymnastics team final

i don’t think some people quite understand the danger of performing some of her moves when her mental state is not 100%. just the fact that she landed on her feet was a testament to her abilities as a gymnast. at such heights, if not landed properly, a broken bone and even a broken neck could end everything for a gymnast.

I don’t think she’s nervous I think she literally is burnt out and lost her love and motivation. You can’t physically do it if you mentally do not care.

"Laugh and the world laugh with you, weep and you'll weep alone."

She was shaky in qualifying too. Clearly she thought she was going to bring the team down and didn't want to risk it.

If any of y'all watched the qualifiers, it was already a good tell of how she was already off going into the Olympics. Sure, she was still rated the best, but she messed up almost all her routines: she went off the floor during her floor exercise, went out of bounds for her vault, and messed up her dismount from the balance beam. She is not quitting from a single fail, she is withdrawing because of a culmination of factors on and off the floor. And I'm willing to bet that the same people who vilify her for withdrawing after her vault, would vilify her for not doing well in the rest of the events and would force her to compete even if she risked career ending injury.

Wow the comments are so detached from most people's reality and struggles. She is setting a wonderful example of knowing when to step back for your own physical and mental being. good for her!

I hope the mental health of the rest of the team is ok.

I mean if rules were changed to critique my performance harder than other competitors i might not be in a good head space either. And that aould only harm my team in the long run

This realization I had about Simone Biles is gonna make some people mad, but oh well. Yesterday I was excited to show my daughters Kerri Strug's famous one-leg vault. It was a defining Olympic moment that I watched live as a kid, and my girls watched raptly as Strug fell, and then limped back to leap again. But for some reason I wasn't as inspired watching it this time. In fact, I felt a little sick. Maybe being a father and teacher has made me soft, but all I could see was how Kerri Strug looked at her coach, Bela Karolyi, with pleading, terrified eyes, while he shouted back "You can do it!" over and over again. My daughters didn't cheer when Strug landed her second vault. Instead they frowned in concern as she collapsed in agony and frantic tears. "Why did she jump again if she was hurt?" one of my girls asked. I made some inane reply about the heart of a champion or Olympic spirit, but in the back of my mind a thought was festering: She shouldn't have jumped again The more the thought echoed, the stronger my realization became. Coach Karolyi should have gotten his visibly injured athlete medical help immediately! Now that I have two young daughters in gymnastics, I expect their safety to be the coach's number one priority. Instead, Bela Karolyi told Strug to vault again. And he got what he wanted; a gold medal that was more important to him than his athlete's health. I'm sure people will say "Kerri Strug was a competitor--she WANTED to push through the injury." That's probably true. But since the last Olympics we've also learned these athletes were put into positions where they could be systematically abused both emotionally and physically, all while being inundated with "win at all costs" messaging. A teenager under those conditions should have been protected, and told "No medal is worth the risk of permanent injury." In fact, we now know that Strug's vault wasn't even necessary to clinch the gold; the U.S. already had an insurmountable lead. Nevertheless, Bela Karolyi told her to vault again according to his own recounting of their conversation: "I can't feel my leg," Strug told Karolyi. "We got to go one more time," Karolyi said. "Shake it out." "Do I have to do this again?" Strug asked. "Can you, can you?" Karolyi wanted to know. "I don't know yet," said Strug. "I will do it. I will, I will." The injury forced Strug's retirement at 18 years old. Dominique Moceanu, a generational talent, also retired from injuries shortly after. They were top gymnasts literally pushed to the breaking point, and then put out to pasture. Coach Karolyi and Larry Nassar (the serial sexual abuser) continued their long careers, while the athletes were treated as disposable resources. Today Simone Biles--the greatest gymnast of all time--chose to step back from the competition, citing concerns for mental and physical health. I've already seen comments and posts about how Biles "failed her country", "quit on us", or "can't be the greatest if she can't handle the pressure." Those statements are no different than Coach Karolyi telling an injured teen with wide, frightened eyes: "We got to go one more time. Shake it out." The subtext here is: "Our gold medal is more important than your well-being." Our athletes shouldn't have to destroy themselves to meet our standards. If giving empathetic, authentic support to our Olympians means we'll earn fewer gold medals, I'm happy to make that trade. Here's the message I hope we can send to Simone Biles: You are an outstanding athlete, a true role model, and a powerful woman. Nothing will change that. Please don't sacrifice your emotional or physical well-being for our entertainment or national pride. We are proud of you for being brave enough to compete, and proud of you for having the wisdom to know when to step back. Your choice makes you an even better example to our daughters than you were before. WE'RE STILL ROOTING FOR YOU! (written by Byron Health)

With all due respect, I think some of the American athletes have been served a dish of humble pie within this last week....

For all those moves in air your need to be very strong mentally... Mental health is above everything... Right decision on her part, hope her teammates and the people of USA understand that...After all it is spectacular to see her moves, she is one of the best gymnastics contender ever

Why watch someone analyze Simone. Just go watch Simone Biles press conference and hear the words directly from her mouth.

The women's gymnastics team has endured so much. The entire molestation ordeal. The rivalries within the group and with other countries. It's time to take care of yourself.

If she was under so much pressure, she should have given up her spot from the freaking beginning to another girl who has dreamed of this opportunity all their lives.

Y'all wanna see athletes break and burn and die for the gold because it's entertainment to you, but then you'll talk about glory and honor for them. How evil

You forgot to mention how much of that mental pressure was created by the media’s hype and expectations of her. It’s team USA but the media made it sound like Simone USA. While the rest of the team was ignored by the media, Simone was pressured to perform. I feel bad for her as under different circumstances she would’ve been outstanding as she has been in the past but the media let her and the team down! 😳

I know things didn't work out the way we expected but I am so very proud of Team USA. The way that Jordan, Grace and Suni stepped was amazing. Hoping that Simone is able to compete in the rest of the games.

Bahahah we live in an upside down world where quitting on your team and your country is seen as a positive and that if she didn't do it her team would have been worse? You are telling me that the best gymnast on your team quitting is what helped you win a medal? She hurt her team, she was being hyped up as the best Gymnast to ever compete but didn't even finish the competition because she couldn't handle the pressure. Weak I will always remember her for quitting nothing else matter anymore.

She made the decision and people have to respect that. Your wellbeing is important too

I'm so conflicted. Only Simone can understand what she is truly capable of in the moment. She did not look ok at these Games. Withdrawing to protect herself from injury was a good thing to do, but my heart also breaks for the other girls on the team, who were no doubt, depending on her, and wanted to win (maybe expected to win?) gold. Jordan and Grace will (likely) not get another shot at becoming Olympic champions. I feel for them. It's such a tough spot.