Story at a glance
- Gymnast Simone Biles pulled out of the Tokyo Olympics due to a medical issue ahead of the finals.
- The United States’ women’s gymnastics teams placed second, taking the silver medal.
- The Americans lost the team title for the first time since the 2010 world championships.
In a team sport, every member counts — especially the star player.
Without Simone Biles, the United States’ women’s gymnastics team lost the team title for the first time since the 2010 world championships, taking second place to Russia.
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Biles, who struggled during the qualifiers, was seen talking with the team doctor during the event and withdrew afterwards “due to a medical issue.”
Official statement: “Simone Biles has withdrawn from the team final competition due to a medical issue. She will be assessed daily to determine medical clearance for future competitions.”
Thinking of you, Simone! pic.twitter.com/QA1GYHwWTv
— USA Gymnastics (@USAGym) July 27, 2021
“She will be assessed daily to determine medical clearance for future competitions,” said USA Gymnastics in an official statement.
With a combined total of 30 Olympic and World Championship medals, Biles remains the most decorated American gymnast and one of the most dominant gymnasts of all time. The 24-year-old had dialed up the difficulty ahead of the Olympics despite the sports governing body discouraging more difficult moves with lower scores.
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Still, it wasn’t all for the scoreboard.
“I just feel like everything that happened, I had to come back to the sport to be a voice, to have change happen. Because I feel like if there weren’t a remaining survivor in the sport, they would’ve just brushed it to the side,” said Biles in a recent interview, as the only self-identified victim of former team doctor Larry Nassar, who was convicted for sexual abuse of minors and child pornography, on the team.
“But since I’m still here, and I have quite a social media presence and platform, they have to do something. So I feel like coming back, gymnastics just wasn’t the only purpose I was supposed to do.”
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