Tokyo: Finally the wait is over. Gymnast Simone Biles is returning to competition here. The 2016 Olympic champion will compete in the balance beam finals Tuesday. Simone Biles took the decision to participate in the beam finals, a little over a week after stepping away from the meet to focus on her mental health.
“We are so excited to confirm that you will see two US athletes in the balance beam final tomorrow (Tuesday) – Simone Biles and Suni Lee!! Can’t wait to watch you both!” USA Gymnastics tweeted.
The 24-year-old Biles won bronze on beam in Rio de Janeiro five years ago. She qualified for the eight-woman final at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre on the first weekend of the Games. Biles removed herself from the team final July 27 after a shaky performance on vault during the first rotation.
Also read: Simone Biles opts out of floor exercise final at Olympics
Biles watched from the sidelines as her three American teammates completed the meet without her. The US took silver behind the team known as the Russian Olympic Committee.
Biles later said she was dealing with issues surrounding air awareness, referred to as ‘the twisties’ in her sport. Biles qualified for all five individual event finals but took herself out of four of them. They are the all-around, vault, floor exercise and uneven bars. Lee earned the gold in the all-around, becoming the fifth straight American to claim the sport’s marquee title.