Advertisement
UK markets closed
  • NIKKEI 225

    40,168.07
    -594.66 (-1.46%)
     
  • HANG SENG

    16,541.42
    +148.58 (+0.91%)
     
  • CRUDE OIL

    83.05
    +1.70 (+2.09%)
     
  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,241.00
    +28.30 (+1.28%)
     
  • DOW

    39,827.32
    +67.24 (+0.17%)
     
  • Bitcoin GBP

    55,990.12
    +1,528.43 (+2.81%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • NASDAQ Composite

    16,401.82
    +2.30 (+0.01%)
     
  • UK FTSE All Share

    4,338.05
    +12.12 (+0.28%)
     

Simone Biles Praised By Celebrity Friends After Pulling Out Of Olympic Events

Photo credit: LOIC VENANCE - Getty Images
Photo credit: LOIC VENANCE - Getty Images

Simone Biles, largely recognised as one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, has been inundated with supportive messages from fellow athletes and celebrities after pulling out of Olympic events to focus on her mental health.

On Tuesday, day four of the Games, Biles competed in the all-round team event representing Team USA before exiting the competition mid-way through due to a 'medical issue'.

She later returned to the gymnasium wearing a team tracksuit to cheer on her fellow teammates, and joined them on the podium when they won silver medals. The Russian Olympic Committee claimed gold and Great Britain, bronze.

Photo credit: Tim Clayton - Corbis - Getty Images
Photo credit: Tim Clayton - Corbis - Getty Images

A day later Biles announced that she would not be competing in the individual all-round event either, which was largely expected to win her back-to-back Olympic Games wins - the first for a woman since the Sixties - and break records in the process. The 24-year-old disclosed that she had decided to sit out on the events for the last two days due to her mental health.

ADVERTISEMENT

Great Olympic athletes are often treated as performers for our entertainment and assumed to have near superhuman qualities, with little acknowledgment of them experiencing the same pressures, stresses and struggles as the rest of us. It's an issue Biles' fellow Olympian Naomi Osaka has also spoken about in recent months after she withdrew from doing press interviews at the French Open on the grounds of protecting her mental health.

Biles and Osaka discussions about mental health are now being lauded by fellow athletes and celebrities who similarly experience public pressures and intrusions.

Following Biles' departure from the events, athletes, actors and politicians all praised the athlete:

Michelle Obama, former First Lady of the United States

Aly Raisman, former Team USA gymnast and Olympic gold medallist

Max Whitlock, Team GB gymnast and Rio 2016 gold medallist

Michael Phelps, former Olympic champion and Team USA swimmer

Cori Bush, congresswoman

Adam Rippon, former figure skater

Billie Jean King, former tennis champion

Uzo Aduba, actor

Rosanna Arquette, actor

Greg Rutherford, former Team GB long jump gold medallist

Helen Richardson-Walsh, Team GB hockey player and 2016 Olympic gold medallist

Danusia Francis, British-Jamaican gymnast representing Jamaica in Tokyo

Ellen DeGeneres , talk show host

Billy Eichner, comedian and actor

Chelsea Handler, comedian

Ronda Rousey, MMA and UFC fighter

Andy Cohen,talk show host

Following Team USA's silver medal performance, Biles spoke during a press conference about her decision, saying: 'I say put mental health first because if you don't then you're not going to enjoy your sport or succeed as much as you want to so it's ok sometimes to even sit out the big competitions to focus on yourself because it shows how strong of a competitor and person you really are, rather than just battle through it.'

Photo credit: MARTIN BUREAU - Getty Images
Photo credit: MARTIN BUREAU - Getty Images

On Wednesday, when USA Gymnastics confirmed Biles would sit out the individual event too, they issued the following statement on Twitter:

It awaits to be seen whether the athlete will compete in the individual apparatus events later in the tournament. Biles has previously said she is taking her decisions day by day.

You Might Also Like