TOKYO (AP) – It’s not easy being the GOAT.
Superstar Simone Biles exited the competition on Tuesday morning, following a shaky vault performance that led her to believe she wasn’t in the right headspace for competition.
The U.S went on to claim silver following the Biles exit, while the Russian Olympic Committee grabbed the gold.
“I didn’t want to go into any of the other events second-guessing myself,” Biles said. “So, I thought it would be better if I took a step back and let these girls go out there and do their job.”
So, Grace McCallum, Sunisa Lee and Jordan Chiles did their thing while Biles cheered them on.
On Monday, Biles posted to social media that she felt the weight of the world on her shoulders, and it snuck it to her practice, confidence and preformance.
“It’s very uncharacteristic of me,” Biles said. “So it just sucks that it happens here at the Olympic Games than have it happen at any other time. But, you know, with the year that it’s been, I’m really not surprised.”
The GOAT may not be gone yet – she’s still scheduled to compete Thursday to defend her Olympic title in the all around final, in addition to qualifying for four events later in the games.
Biles says the decision to continue has not been made yet.