Simone Biles abandoned the defence of her individual all-around Olympic crown on Wednesday, a day after her shock withdrawal from the women’s team final over mental health concerns.
As a worldwide outpouring of support for the troubled US gymnastics superstar grew, a statement from USA Gymnastics confirmed that Biles would not take part in Thursday’s all-around final.
The 24-year-old 2016 Olympic all-around gold medallist’s participation in the four individual event finals starting on Sunday will be decided after further evaluation, USAG said.
“Simone Biles has withdrawn from the final individual all-around competition at the Tokyo Olympic Games in order to focus on her mental health,” USAG said in a statement.