August 03, (THEWILL) – American multiple-winning gymnast Simone Biles returned to competition at the ongoing Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan and promptly secured a bronze medal in the women’s balance beam to match her previous mark in the event.
THEWILL recalls that the multi-talented 24-year-old withdrew from her previous four finals on mental health grounds. Upon her return, Biles produced an impressive routine that initially looked to be a contender for gold on the balance beam.
The gold rather went to China’s Guan Chenchen after Biles’s efforts were rewarded with a modest 14.000 by the event judges. It was a Chinese double as Guan’s winning 14.633 was followed by compatriot Tang Xijing, who finished with 14.233.
As THEWILL reported on Monday, Biles also won bronze in the event at Rio 2016. In Brazil however, she had four gold medals to go with the bronze from the balance beam event five years ago.
This time around, a case of the Twisties saw Biles almost completely withdraw from all events in Tokyo.
The gymnast came out front about her battle with that feeling of losing all sense of direction when airborne, which affects an athlete when their minds lose sync with their bodies.
The danger that poses is frightening given the near gravity-defying displays and performances that gymnasts are famous for and Biles was widely praised for speaking out about her mental health, while becoming an enthusiastic cheerleader from the stands of her team-mates.
She gave herself time to handle the challenge of dealing with the phenomenon and withdrew from the individual events at the Games until she felt comfortable enough to return and partake in the final of the balance beam.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
