Simone Biles will compete in the balance beam finals on Tuesday, USA Gymnastics confirmed. It is Biles’ final opportunity to medal at the Olympics after she withdrew from the all-around and three other event finals in Tokyo, citing mental health issues that prevented her from safely performing her routines.
Biles, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, will join United States teammate Sunisa Lee in the balance beam event.
We are so excited to confirm that you will see two U.S. athletes in the balance beam final tomorrow - Suni Lee AND Simone Biles!! Can’t wait to watch you both!— USA Gymnastics (@USAGym) August 2, 2021
We are so excited to confirm that you will see two U.S. athletes in the balance beam final tomorrow - Suni Lee AND Simone Biles!! Can’t wait to watch you both!
Biles, 24, has won one medal so far in Tokyo, where she was expected to dominate the gymnastics competitions. Since pulling out of the all-around team finals following a vault routine that went wrong, Biles has missed the individual all-around and the vault, uneven bars and floor exercise finals. Team USA won silver in the team all-around and Lee, in Biles’ absence, claimed gold in the individual all-around.
Biles will have a chance at redemption on the balance beam after coming away with bronze in the event in 2016, her only non-gold medal at the Rio Olympics.
The event could be Biles’ last at the Olympics, as she is considering retirement after the Tokyo Games.