Trending

Simone Biles to compete in Tuesday’s balance beam final at Tokyo Olympics

TOKYO — USA Gymnastics has confirmed that Simone Biles will compete in the balance beam final Tuesday at the Tokyo Olympics.

>> Read more trending news

“We are so excited to confirm that you will see two U.S. athletes in the balance beam final tomorrow – Suni Lee AND Simone Biles!!” the organization tweeted Monday. “Can’t wait to watch you both!”

The news came days after Biles, often described as the greatest gymnast of all time, withdrew from the team, individual all-around, vault, uneven bars and floor finals at the Games to focus on her mental health. She later revealed that she was suffering from “the twisties,” a mental block that causes athletes to lose awareness of their position midair, USA Today reported.

“For anyone saying I quit, I didn’t quit,” she captioned an Instagram video that showed her falling back-first onto a mat while practicing an uneven bars dismount Friday. “My mind & body are simply not in sync, as you can see here.”

She added: “I don’t think you realize how dangerous this is on hard/competition surface. Nor do I have to explain why I put health first. Physical health is mental health.”

>> RELATED STORY: Simone Biles shares new Olympic training videos, says mind and body ‘not in sync’

Following Biles’ withdrawal, fellow Americans Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles and Grace McCallum went on to win the silver medal in the team final last week. In Thursday’s all-around competition, Lee ended up capturing the gold medal, while teammate Jade Carey, who replaced Biles, finished in eighth place.

>> RELATED STORY: Who is Sunisa Lee, gold medalist in Olympic gymnastics all-around?

MyKayla Skinner, also of the United States, took Biles’ place in Sunday’s vault final and won the silver medal, while Carey stumbled and finished in eighth place. Lee later won the bronze in the uneven bars final.

>> RELATED STORY: MyKayla Skinner wins silver in vault as replacement for Simone Biles

On Monday, Carey won the gold medal in the women’s floor exercise final.

>> RELATED STORY: Jade Carey wins gold in floor exercise final at Tokyo Olympics