Former First Lady Michelle Obama lent her support to US gymnast Simone Biles following her withdrawal from the Tokyo Games due to emotional and mental stress issues.
In a tweet posted on Tuesday, Obama told Biles of a mental health mantra she claims to practice daily while also telling the Olympian that “we are proud of you and we are rooting for you.”
Team USA fell behind the Russians after Simone Biles’s disastrous turn at the vault during the team final on Tuesday. Biles cited the emotional stress of being the “head star” of the sport as her reasoning for bowing out. The Russian Olympic Committee eventually won gold at the team finals.
(LOIC VENANCE/AFP via Getty Images)
Biles had left open the possibility of competing at the individual events on Thursday but has instead opted out of the remaining Olympic events.
“Whenever you get in a high-stress situation, you kind of freak out. I have to focus on my mental health and not jeopardize my health and well-being,” Biles said.
(Simone Biles supports her team mates by carrying their chalk after pulling out after the vault during the Women’s Team Final on day four of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Centre on July 27, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
Jade Carey will fill Biles’s vacancy on the team.