Sarah Hirshland, Chief Executive Officer of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, tweeted a message to American superstar Simone Biles following news of the gymnast’s decision to withdraw from the gymnastics team final for medical reasons.
“Simone, you’ve made us so proud. Proud of who you are as a person, teammate and athlete,” Hirshland tweeted.
Hirshland continued: “We applaud your decision to prioritize your mental wellness over all else, and offer you the full support and resources of our Team USA community as you navigate the journey ahead.”
Simone, you’ve made us so proud. Proud of who you are as a person, teammate and athlete. We applaud your decision to prioritize your mental wellness over all else, and offer you the full support and resources of our Team USA community as you navigate the journey ahead.— Sarah Hirshland (@USOPC_CEO) July 27, 2021
Simone, you’ve made us so proud. Proud of who you are as a person, teammate and athlete. We applaud your decision to prioritize your mental wellness over all else, and offer you the full support and resources of our Team USA community as you navigate the journey ahead.
Biles has now said the issue was not a physical ailment, but that she was “dealing with some things internally.”
“I just felt like it would be a little bit better to take a back seat, and work on my mindfulness,” she said.
As for the rest of her plans here, Biles replied, “We’re going to take it a day at a time. I know tomorrow we have a little bit of a break for training, so that’ll be really nice to have a mental rest day. And then injury, no. Just my pride is hurt a little bit.”
Simone Biles spoke after the U.S. finished second in the team final.She said Tuesday was “really stressful” and she had “never felt like this going into a competition.” pic.twitter.com/fVt0u0hJmN— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 27, 2021
Simone Biles spoke after the U.S. finished second in the team final.She said Tuesday was “really stressful” and she had “never felt like this going into a competition.” pic.twitter.com/fVt0u0hJmN
Biles has qualified for all of the remaining women’s individual gymnastics events, which leaves a significant Olympic schedule for the American.
When asked if she could be back to compete on Thursday Bile said, “Yes.”
Simone Biles speaking after her dramatic health-related exit from the team #gymnastics: "I’m ok. Just dealing with some things internally which will get fixed out in the next couple of days."Asked, see you back here on Thursday? “Yes,” she said.— Mark Woods (@markbritball) July 27, 2021
Simone Biles speaking after her dramatic health-related exit from the team #gymnastics: "I’m ok. Just dealing with some things internally which will get fixed out in the next couple of days."Asked, see you back here on Thursday? “Yes,” she said.