Incredibly, the greatest woman's gymnast in history said "no mas" at Tokyo Olympics.
When I heard that Biles had dropped out of the gymnastics team finals I thought she had been injured. But, now it appears it was a confidence problem.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
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Biles withdraws from gymnastics final to protect team, self
WILL GRAVES | AP Sports Writer 4-6 minutes 7/27/2021
Coach Laurent Landi embraces Simone Biles, after she exited the team final with an apparent injury, at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 27, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
TOKYO (AP) — Simone Biles came to Tokyo as the star of the U.S. Olympic movement and perhaps the Games themselves. She convinced herself she was prepared for the pressure. That she was ready for the spotlight.
Only, as the women's gymnastics team final approached on Tuesday night, something felt off for the American star. So rather than push through the doubts that crept into her head as she's done so many times before, she decided enough was enough.
Simone Biles, of the United States, lands from the vault during the artistic gymnastics women's final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 27, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Biles withdrew from the competition following one rotation, a stunning decision that opened the door for the team Russian Olympic Committee to surge to gold. Her American teammates held on for silver after the 24-year-old realized following a shaky vault she wasn't in the right headspace to compete.
“I didn’t want to go into any of the other events second-guessing myself,” Biles said. “So, I thought it would be better if I took a step back and let these girls go out there and do their job.”
Biles spent the final three rotations serving as head cheerleader while Grace McCallum, Sunisa Lee and Jordan Chiles carried on without her. The U.S. drew within eight-tenths of a point through three rotations. ROC, however, never wavered on floor. And they erupted when 21-year-old Angelina Melnikova's score assured them of the top spot on the podium.
Simone Biles, of the United States, talks to teammates during the artistic women's team final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 27, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
The victory came a day after ROC men’s team edged Japan for the top spot in the men’s final.
Great Britain edged Italy for bronze.
The U.S. entered the finals hoping to bounce back from a shaky performance in qualifying, when the Americans came in second to the ROC. It marked the first time in 11 years the U.S. found itself looking up at the scoreboard at someone else.
Biles posted on social media Monday that she felt the weight of the world on her shoulders. It affected her practice. It affected her confidence. And when she stepped onto the vault runway, it finally found its way to her performance, too.
“To see her kind of go out like that is very sad because this Olympic Games, I feel like, is kind of hers," Lee said.
Biles was scheduled to do an “Amanar” vault that requires a roundoff back handspring onto the table followed by 2 1/2 twists. Biles instead did just 1 1/2 twists with a big leap forward after landing. She sat down and talked to U.S. team doctor Marcia Faustin, then headed to the back while her teammates moved on to uneven bars without her.
When Biles returned several minutes later, she hugged her teammates and took off her bar grips. And just like that, her night was over.
“It’s very uncharacteristic of me,” Biles said. “So it just sucks that it happens here at the Olympic Games than have it happen at any other time. But, you know, with the year that it’s been, I’m really not surprised.”
Biles is scheduled to defend her Olympic title in the all-around final on Thursday. She also qualified for all four event finals later in the Games. She said she will regroup on Wednesday before deciding whether to continue.
Biles’ abrupt absence forced the Americans to scramble a bit. The finals are a three-up/three-count format, meaning each country puts three of their four athletes up on an apparatus, with all three scores counting.
Chiles stepped in to take Biles' place on uneven bars and balance beam. The 20-year-old who made the team with her steady consistency pulled off a solid bars routine and drilled her balance beam set two days after falling twice on the event.
Thanks in part to a little help from ROC — which recorded a pair of falls on beam — the U.S. drew within striking distance heading to floor, the final rotation.
Yet the Americans — without Biles and her otherworldly tumbling — needed to be near perfect to close the gap. It didn’t happen. Chiles stumbled to the mat at the end of her second pass, and any chance the U.S. had of chasing down ROC went right along with it.
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I hope she finds her chi and comes back to kick ass.
she's no Kerri Strug, that's for sure.
Just unbelievable the supposed best of all time would quit on her team in the middle of the ultimate competition . I feel bad for the girl who didn't make the team so biles could quit on it.
i think we need to wait for final confirmation of what happened but it appears she had a crash loss of confidence. its a sad story because she will lose some status .
maybe someone will talk her into trying on thursday and we will get a storybook ending.
A storybook ending where she wins individual medals after quitting on her team? If she has any sense, she wouldn't compete for individual medals after quitting on the team.
The only one who can talk her into it is herself.
She is still the G.O.A.T. regardless if she decides if she decides to continue to compete or not.
She reminds me of Rhonda Rousey. Pushes herself way too hard. Constantly wants to press the envelope; perhaps to the point that she over extends. It seems once her confidence is gone she is done as well. Unlike Rhonda she didn't push things to the point of no return.
She will not get the respect she deserves for supporting her teammates after withdrawing. I am sure she was feeling doubt; and even more pressure, from her decision to withdraw.
Hopefully she regains her confidence to compete. If not, then she shouldn't push it. The moves she does are exceedingly dangerous. Having doubt leads to mistakes that could lead to serious injury.
I think that the potential danger is a factor that everyone should consider when judging her. If another GOAT , say Michael Jordan, misses two free throws at the end of the 7th game of an NBA championship series it would be a big failure but it wont put him in physical jeopardy. If Simone Biles freezes up in the middle of a tumbling pass and falls wrong on her neck she could paralyze herself.
Nonetheless, her reputation as a gamer and ice water in her veins and all that is going to take a big hit.
It will be interesting to see public reaction over the next few days.
I frankly don't care about public reaction.
Hopefully she chooses to into acting if her gymnastic career is over. I am sure Disney has several action/adventures she would be ideal for.
I just hope she remembers she is still the G.O.A.T. no matter what the outcome of this Olympics is.
I remember reading how Rhonda Rousey thought about committing suicide when she first lost her championship. I also remember her comeback attempt; someone close to her should have stopped her from trying. Her head and heart weren't into it; and she took even a worse beating.
The public decides who the GOAT is, although I agree her record over the past six or seven years will likely keep her up there. I think you are underestimating the criticism that will come to her after this.
Again, I don't really care what the public thinks. Generally the "public" is dumb as a school of minnows waiting for the next shiny thing to catch their attention. Many love to latch onto any failure; as the only way they can feel good about themselves is by dragging everyone else down.
She will be the G.O.A.T. in my book regardless.
A short time ago she believed she was as well. Doubt she still does; but hopefully she will come to believe it again.
I read a few minutes ago that Biles had G.O.A.T. put on some of her personal belongings like her shoes and blankets. So she was buying into it . I do think her main reason for dropping out was fear of injury if she wasnt fully focused, but I think fear of failure may have entered into it too. The build up was so huge that nothing short of perfection would have been accepted.
Spot on ... good post.
For her personally, she should do what works best for her. If the stress is causing her to lose focus, she has to deal with that in the best way she can. If that means dropping out, so be it. Her first duty in this situation is to her own mental and physical health.
However, I can’t help but wonder if she will be disappointed in herself down the line. I have to believe I would be.
Additionally, this will damage her reputation as a great champion. It doesn’t erase everything she has already achieved, of course. This might seem like a harsh judgment, but when you are weighing the greatest of all time in a thing, the judgment is necessarily harsh.
In an interview, she seemed to hint at the idea that this was related to her age and something that happens to us all as we grow into our late 20s - she is realizing how easily she could be seriously hurt. Young people have a tendency to disregard the dangerous consequences of the stunts they perform. But as you push 30 (she’s 24) a person begins to come to terms with the concepts of mortality and that injuries can be awful. This is why 18 year olds are more dangerous drivers and also make for more pliable soldiers than 25 year olds.
I dont know if its right or wrong or good or bad , but i think this tweet is probably accurate
I think that’s true, but in years to come, that harsh reaction would soften. For example, a lot of people were exceedingly disappointed when Sandy Koufax quit baseball at age 30 and openly questioned his legacy. Nevertheless, he still managed to get into the Hall of Fame, and is lovingly remembered today as one of the greats of the game.
I'm not sure Roberto Duran would agree.
He didn't quit. He was forced to retire because of debilitating medical conditions. That's massively different. He was elected to the Hall of Fame at his first opportunity.
If Koufax walked off the mound and quit in the middle of Game 7 of the World Series because he didn't feel like pitching, his legacy would be entirely different.
Duran is a great example. A tremendous fighter. A Champion.
But his legacy is No Mas.
Or Scottie Pippen. Won 6 titles and his defining moment as a player was his pouting and sitting out the last 3.2 seconds of a playoff game because Phil Jacksons didn't call the play for him.
I agree, but that doesn’t change the fact that there was something of a mixed reaction.
Of course that would be worse
What has Brady won 7 Super Bowls now? With 2 different teams (6 with the Pats and 1 with the Bucs).
I think his legacy is more than safe.
Half of NFL fans would rejoice if he decided to leave any game for any reason. Brady may be the G.O.A.T.; but most loved he is not. Being a Steelers fan I always hated playing the Pats during playoff time. Brady is ice in the playoffs; and he can shred any defense. The Steelers might have 1 or two more rings if not for Brady. I am sure Payton Manning would have collected a few more as well.
I think if Brady gets to the Super Bowl this year and has some sort of anxiety attack where he pulls himself out of the game because he can't handle the pressure, that would be his legacy.
So 7 Super Bowls be damned? There are teams that will never play in that many Super Bowls. Much the less have 1 star player play in that many for them.
If you quit in the middle of the last one? Yeah.
He is going to get a Farve legacy.
I think he should have retired.
Ps. I know the scenario was hypothetical. Haha
That's doubtful. Brady is one of the greatest football players ever, with 7 Superbowl wins. He's also older than most NFL players when they retire from the game. Some people thought Brady should have called it quits after his last SB win with the Pat's. Yet, he's still going. If Brady did decide to quit, I doubt anyone would complain or call him a quitter. He's already proved himself.
The response to Simone Biles on twitter appears to be mixed
(10) Simone - Twitter Search / Twitter
a lot of support and also more than a little criticism
It is hard to understand how a person could go through everything that she has gone through to get to that moment only to decide not to go through with it.
I mean if - and this is my impression of what’s going on - she’s nervous about doing some double or triple twisting flippity floppity move, then I would say “don’t do that move.” Do some other, less scary, move and just do it as well as Simone Biles can. I’d rather have Simone Biles at 80% or 90% than not at all.
Her ability won't last forever but her mental well being is forever. The latter is all important.
I support her and wish her well. She has done great things for gymnastics. Confidence is a big part of that sport, a loss of that is like a physical injury.
And a loss of confidence can easily result in a physical injury. I'm glad she recognized she wasn't in the zone and stopped rather than try to push thru and badly injure herself. She's an incredible athlete and I suspect she will be back in action.
If one's head isn't in the game or competition, their performance will suffer. Possibly to the point where quitting instead would make little difference. Never mind the potential for injury.
Suni Lee (sp) has just taken a gold in an individual event.
Suni Lee won the big one, the individual all around competition , which makes her now the reigning greatest female gymnast in the world.
Next week the women will compete on individual apparatus for additional medals.
Awesome. Too bad Biles dropped. They could have gone 1-2.