What Happened to Simone Biles? Tokyo Olympics Withdrawal Explained

With four Olympic gold medals and 23 gold medals from the World Championships, Simone Biles is considered one of the most decorated gymnasts. Following the release of Simone Biles Rising, a Netflix docuseries about Biles’s return to the Olympics, there is renewed interest in knowing about her withdrawal from the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.

Here is what we have learned about the reasons behind Simone Biles’s withdrawal from the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Why did Simone Biles withdraw from Tokyo Olympics?

Although Biles went to the Tokyo Olympics as one of the favorites to win gold at multiple individual events, she started having issues right from the beginning. While she played a critical role in the U.S. qualifying for the team final, in second place after Russia, Biles experienced multiple difficulties during her routines. After not finishing the standard twists, she decided to exit the team competition and stated that she was dealing with issues involving her mental health.

“After the performance I did, I just didn’t want to go on,” the athlete later said. “I have to focus on my mental health. I just think mental health is more prevalent in sports right now. We have to protect our minds and our bodies and not just go out and do what the world wants us to do. I don’t trust myself as much anymore. Maybe it’s getting older. There were a couple of days when everybody tweets you and you feel the weight of the world.” (via BBC News)

In the subsequent days, Biles also exited the individual all-around competition, vault, uneven bars, and floor finals, citing the same reason. She did compete in the balance beam final, in which she won a bronze medal. In an August 2021 interview with Hoda Kotb on NBC’s TODAY show, Biles said that the bronze medal “means more than all of the golds because I pushed through so much the last five years and the last week while I’ve even been here.” (via NBC News)

Paris Olympic Games will begin on July 26, 2024, and conclude on August 11, 2024. Biles has already qualified for the event.