Superstar gymnast Simone Biles pulled out of a second event to protect her mental health
on Wednesday, putting the spotlight on athletes' wellbeing at a Tokyo Olympics held under strict rules to prevent the spread of coronavirus.on Tuesday, also ditched the all-around, raising doubts about her further participation in Tokyo.
The 24-year-old American's struggles follow those of Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka, another face of the Games who lost in the third round on her return from a mental health break.They overshadowed another busy day at the delayed 2020 Games, where US swimming great Katie Ledecky bounced back from her second defeat by Australia's Ariarne Titmus to win her first gold in Tokyo.
Biles, unbeaten in all-around competition since 2013 and widely touted as the 'G.O.A.T' , arrived seeking five Olympic titles to equal Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina's career record of nine.But this week she complained she had"the weight of the world on my shoulders" and withdrew after a single, shaky vault in the team competition. Attention will now focus on whether she will compete in her four remaining individual events.
International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said support measures included psychologists in the Athletes' Village and phone helplines. "That became more urgent obviously with the Covid pandemic, so we've been working on that quite a lot," he said.
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