As Simone Biles made a surprising exit from the women’s team final in gymnastics, she made sure to stop and give her teammates a message.
Biles told her teammates, “You guys go out there and do what you’ve trained to do. I’m sorry. I love you guys, but you’re going to do just fine. I love you. You guys have trained your whole entire lives for this. It’s fine.”
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The U.S. gymnastics team took silver in the women’s team event after Biles withdrew from the competition after the first event.
According to a statement from USA Gymnastics, Biles withdrew due to a medical issue. The organization said she will be assessed daily to determine medical clearance for future competitions. Biles’ coach wrote to NBC after Biles’ exit, “Physically she is fine. But she is done for the night.”
Despite entering the final event down by less than a point, the United States could not catch the ROC, who took control in the floor routine, finishing with a final total of 169.528 and winning gold. The United States finished behind the Russians with a score of 166.096.
Competing without Biles, Suni Lee stepped up on the uneven bars and the balance beam. She posted a 15.400, tying her with Belgium’s Nina Derwael for the best score on the uneven bars.
In the balance beam, Lee secured a score of 14.133, the second-best in that event of the competition.
Before her withdrawal, Biles had an uncharacteristically poor vault, and she failed to stick the landing. She bailed out of her Amanar and only completed a 1.5 twist on a 2.5-twisting Yurchenko, then took a big stumble backward on the landing.
After her vault, she could be seen being evaluated by Team USA trainers.
But despite her withdrawal, Simone stayed on the sidelines, and could be seen cheering on her teammates as they finished the competition without her.