UPDATED, 8:05 AM: Russia won the Women’s Gymnastics Team Final at the Toyko Olympics on Tuesday, scooping the gold medal ahead of favored Team USA, who lost star Simone Biles, the five-time world champion and reigning Olympic all-around champion. The result ends a decade of dominance in the event for the American team, which won gold in 2012 and 2016.
Great Britain took the bronze, its first medal in the competition since 1928, finishing narrowly ahead of Italy.
Biles competed in the first event, the vault, scoring a 13.766, the lowest of her Olympics career. After the attempt she was seeing huddling with her trainer and left the floor shortly after. Cameras captured her telling her U.S. teammates that they would be fine without her.
Olympic Gold Medalist Laurie Hernandez broke down what went wrong on Biles’ vault for NBC saying Biles seemed to get caught in the air and the fact that she landed her jump at all was “incredible.” See clip below.
The U.S. Gymnastics team released a statement shortly after she exited saying she had suffered a “medical issue” and that she would be assessed to determine whether she can participate further in the Games. She stayed on the floor with Team USA throughout remaining three rotations of the competition, rooting the team on.
In the mixed-zone press conference after the team final ended, Biles was asked why she pulled out and whether she will return to compete in the all-around final and the event finals later in the week.
“To focus on my well-being and, you know, there is more to life than gymnastics,” she said. “It is very unfortunate that it had to happen at this stage because I definitely wanted this Olympics to go a little bit better, but we’re gonna take it one day at a time, and we’ll see how the rest goes.”
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PREVIOUSLY, 5:14 AM: Reigning Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles is out of today’s events in Tokyo after appearing to sustain an injury while participating in the Team Final, the International Gymnastics Federation has confirmed.
The U.S. Gymnastics team released a statement shortly after she exited saying she had suffered a “medical issue” and that she would be assessed to determine whether she can participate further in the Games.
Biles left after recording a 13.766 on the vault, the lowest score of her Olympics career. She appeared to stick the landing but was then seen huddled with her trainer and left the floor shortly after.
Considered by many to be the most dominant gymnast of all time, 24-year-old Biles has won a total of 30 Olympic and World Championship medals. She took four Olympic golds at Rio 2016, including the event that she was forced to retire from today.
Next up for the U.S. gymnast, who has reached all five finals in Tokyo, is the conclusion of the individual all-round event on Thursday, if she is cleared to participate.