'My mind and body are not in sync': Simone Biles hit back at critics saying she 'quit' the Tokyo Olympics by sharing calamitous video of her 'dangerous' uneven bars practice - and hints she may NOT compete in individual events next week
Simone Biles today gave the strongest clue yet that she is not prepared to continue her quest for Olympic gold and raised fears she may quit the Olympics.
The 24-year-old gymnastics star revealed that she is still struggling to steady her nerves and her competition skills as she decides whether to return to the Olympic arena or walk away from her dream of adding more gold medals to her already-impressive tally.
Biles, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, did a question-and-answer session for her followers, during which she laid bare her current below-standard ability, which also opening up about her mental health struggles and battle with the 'twisties' - a mental phenomenon that causes gymnasts to feel as though they are 'lost in the air'.
Viewers were invited to witness a training calamity, which was filmed this morning in Tokyo, and which is certain to leave Team USA officials pondering whether Biles should quit the Olympics and fly home to take care of her health.
Simone Biles, 24, has shared more details about her mental health issues and struggle with the 'twisties', an issue that causes gymnasts to feel 'lost in the air' and can result in horrific injury
Biles, 24, shared video of herself practicing her uneven bars routine during training in Tokyo, in which she is seen executing several moves with no issue - before then plummeting to the mat
She slammed those who have criticized her for pulling out of the team and all-around finals, insisting that her mental health struggles are real and very dangerous
In her Instagram video, Simone is seen going through her routine on the uneven bars during training - however when she performs her dismount, which requires her to twist her body around in the air, she failed to land on her feet and instead crashed to the mat, falling flat on her back.
Biles' usual dismount - a double twisting somersault - requires her to complete two twists in the air before landing on her feet, facing away from the bars.
However, in one of the videos that she posted, the gymnast only managed to complete half of a twist, before plummeting to the mat and landing flat on her back. A second clip showed her completing one-and-a-half twists, before making the same crash landing.
Such a fault which would cost her heavily in points in Olympic competition if she were to resume her dreams of adding to the four golds and one silver she secured in Rio five years ago.
The twisties can also result in serious injury, leaving gymnasts unable to spot their landing correctly and therefore leaving them at risk of a dangerous fall.
Speaking about the struggle with the issue in the caption of her videos, Biles hit out at those who have criticized her decision to withdraw from both the team and all-around finals, insisting that she did not 'quit', while noting that mental health is just as serious as physical health.
'For anyone saying I quit. I didn't quit, my mind and body are simply not in sync,' she wrote.
'As you can see [in the video]. I don't think you realize how hard this is on hard/competition surface.
'Nor do I have to explain why I put health first. Physical health is mental health.'
In a second caption, Biles explained that she had not been experiencing the twisties before traveling to Tokyo, and she hit out at those who suggested that she should have removed herself from competition before it started - insisting that by the time she started struggling, it was too late for an alternate to replace her.
In the video, Biles attempted to demonstrate the impact of the twisties, a phenomenon that gymnasts experience where they lose understanding of where they are in the air
During training, Biles fell flat on her back while trying to execute her dismount from the bars, which requires her to twist her body around twice in the air
During her practice, she managed to execute one-and-a-half twists before falling backwards, a mishap that was caused by the twisties, which she said started after the qualification events
'No, this was not happening before I left the USA,' she wrote. 'It randomly started after prelims competition the very next morning.
'By that time no an alternate was not allowed to be placed in my position for you "know it alls".
'We have four on a team for a reason. I chose not to continue team competition [and risk] losing a medal (of any color) for the girls/US.
'Also for my own safety and health.'
In a later post, she further clarified the situation, revealing that the rules governing international and Olympic gymnastics competitions prevent alternates from stepping in once the qualification rounds have started.
She also revealed that she felt 'OK-ish' during her warm-up for the finals so decided to push ahead with the competition so as not to let her team down.
'Once you start prelims or qualifications they aren't allowed to replace an athlete. [Those are] just the rules,' she said.
'Even if we were, I warmed up in the back gym "OK-ish". I was fighting demons but I did it. Petrified too... also our US alternates are already back home.'
Biles' video was later edited and removed from her Instagram Stories, however she reposted the caption from the original upload, in which she spoke out about the devastating impact the mental issue has had on her performance and her safety.
Biles also offered more details about her condition during a Q&A session, inviting her followers to pose any questions they have about the twisties and the gymnast's decision to withdraw from competition.
When asked by one of her near-six million followers whether she has struggled with the twisties before, Biles admitted that she has experienced the mental issue in the past, adding that it is a 'petrifying' sensation.
'I have experienced them before,' she wrote. 'They are not fun to deal with. It's honestly petrifying trying to do a skill but not having your mind and body in sync. 10/10 do not recommend.'
However, Biles confessed that the mental block has only ever affected her performance on floor exercise and vault and has never been an issue for her on all four events - which is what started happening when she arrived in Tokyo.
'It's never transferred to bars and beam before for me it's strictly like floor and vault. Go figure, the scariest two,' she explained. 'But this time it's literally on every event, which sucks... really bad.'
Simone Biles watches from the stands at the Tokyo Olympics gymnastics, artistic Women's All-Around Final
Biles is pictured competing in the vault event of the artistic gymnastics women's team final earlier this week
'I also have no idea how I landed on my feet on the vault. If you look at the pictures and my eyes you can see how confused I am as to where I am in the air,' Biles wrote online
Biles stunned spectators when she fumbled on her vault - which is usually one of her strongest events - and she later revealed it was the result of the twisties
Biles' candid posts have added more fuel to the flurry of speculation that she will not compete in any more Olympic events, having gone into the Games as the favorite to win gold in almost every one.
The gymnastics superstar is still entered in for four more individual finals: the women's vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise. The first two of those events, vault and bars, are due to take place on Sunday, meaning that Biles would likely need to announce by Saturday whether or not she is planning to take part.
Should she opt to withdraw from Sunday's events, she would still be eligible to compete in the floor exercise and balance beam finals, which are due to take place on Monday and Tuesday respectively.
Biles admitted during her Q&A that she has no idea how long it will take her to overcome her mental block - confessing that it could well be a much longer process than she has time for ahead of the upcoming finals.
'Unfortunately it varies with time,' she wrote. 'Typically for me it's usually two or more weeks when I've had them before. Honestly no telling/time frame, [it's] something you have to take literally day by day, turn by turn.'
One follower questioned whether Biles is feeling 'off-sync' in other skills that don't require a twist, but instead just involve her rotating forwards or backwards, to which she replied that those elements have also been impacted by the issues.
'Honestly, Kind of,' said. 'But def better than if I try to twist. Sometimes I can't even fathom twisting. I seriously cannot comprehend how to twist.
'[It is the] strangest and weirdest thing as well as feeling.'
Biles answered a series of questions from loyal fans on Instagram about her 'twisties' condition
Biles first indicated that she was suffering from the twisties after she pulled out of the team final on Tuesday following an uncharacteristic error on the vault, which saw her bail out of her skill mid-air before struggling to land on her feet.
Speaking about the moment on Instagram, she revealed that her wobbly landing was actually the best case scenario, revealing that she could well have fallen onto her head or neck and ended up with a horrific injury.
'I also have no idea how I landed on my feet on the vault,' she said. 'If you look at the pictures and my eyes you can see how confused I am as to where I am in the air.
'Thankfully I landed safe enough but I also don't think some of you realize I was supposed to do a 2 1/2 and I only completed a 1 1/2 twist before it looks like I've got shot out of the air.'
She said her team mates were 'Queens' for continuing without her and landing the silver medal.
Simone added it was 'unfortunate' that she would be expected to perform during her Olympic routines ' a ton of twists on each event.'
Sources said team US gymnastic officials are working with the star to evaluate whether she was ready and willing to return to the Olympic arena, but the decision would ultimately rest with her.
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