Simone Byers withdraws from the individual event of the Tokyo Olympics

Simone Byers Has withdrawn from the individual all-around competition 2020 Tokyo Olympics one day later Exit team activity.

The American Gymnastics Association announced that the 24-year-old woman will not defend the gold medal she won in Rio five years ago.

“After further medical evaluation, Simone Byers withdrew from the final individual all-around competition,” the federation said in a statement.

“We wholeheartedly support Simone’s decision and praise her for her courage to put her happiness first. Her courage shows once again why she is a role model for so many people.”

Byers, the most decorated gymnast in history, Retired in the midfield of the team finals on Tuesday Citing mental health issues.

The four-time Olympic champion told reporters shortly afterwards: “We will see it on Thursday. We will see it once a day.”

“I know tomorrow [Wednesday] We took a break from training, which was really good and had a mental rest day. “

In the first round of rotation, Byers scored 13.766 on the vault, which was the lowest score of her Olympic career, and then left the court with the coach. Afterwards, she wrapped her right foot and returned to the floor, but did not participate in the game again. People saw her cheering for her teammates.

After Byers retired, The U.S. team finished second in the team competition, 3.432 points behind the Russian Olympic Committee, becoming The first team to beat the United States in an international competition since 2010.

After the event, Byers told reporters that she chose to “retire to the second line” because she believed in herself teammate It’s enough to win the gold medal without her and admit it She has been struggling mentally recently.

“After that vault, I was like:’I’m not in the right headspace, I won’t lose a medal for this country and these girls’ because they worked so hard, I couldn’t go out, they lost a medal, “she says.

The 19-time world champion added that she felt pretty good during the warm-up period, but her mental health deteriorated during the nearly 6 hours of waiting before the start of the game.

“I’m just shaking and can hardly take a nap,” she continued.

“I have never participated in a competition like this before. I tried to go out and play. The warm-up at the back was a little better, but once I came here, I was like:’No, the spirit is not there, so I just need to let the girls Do it and focus on yourself.'”

Byers came to Tokyo, hoping to become the first woman to win back-to-back gold medals in individual all-around events since Věra Čáslavská of Czechoslovakia achieved this feat at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and 1968 Olympics. Olympic Games In Mexico City.

have Byers won gold medals in all five events She was supposed to participate in four individual events plus team competitions. She could have increased her total Olympic gold medals to nine, one more than the current record of American female athletes held by former swimmer Jenny Thompson.

With 9 Olympic gold medals, Byers will also tie the historical record of women’s Olympic gold medals held by former Soviet star Larisa Latynina.

Although Michael Phelps won eight gold medals in the same Olympics, no American female Olympian has won so many gold medals in a single game.

For now, breaking any record is now out of reach. However, Byers’ position received a lot of support, Including Phelps himself.

“We are humans and no one is perfect. It doesn’t matter if we are not perfect. It doesn’t matter if we go through the ups and downs and emotional roller coasters,” Phelps reports as a swimming analyst for the Tokyo Olympics National Broadcasting Corporation, Told Mike Tirico on Wednesday.

“I feel like I’m carrying it, like Simone [Biles] Say, the weight of the world is on my shoulders. This is a difficult situation. “

Phelps is the most respected Olympian who has won 28 medals in the Olympic Games. He said he hopes that Byers’ brave decision can pave the way for a deeper discussion of the importance of mental health.

“I hope this is an eye-opening experience, and I really do,” he continued.

“I hope this is an opportunity for us to join and even make this mental health issue more open. It is much bigger than we thought. It takes a lot of time, a lot of hard work and someone who is willing to help.”

at the same time, Jordan ChilisAfter Byers retired, she won the silver medal with Sunisa Lee and Grace McCallum. She said that the American team has medals for her outstanding teammates.

“This medal is definitely for [Biles],” Chilis told the Associated Press. “We wouldn’t be here without her. We will not become a silver medalist just because she is alone. “