Piers Morgan says Simone Biles was ‘selfish’ to withdraw from the women’s team gymnastics finals at the Olympics and claims the four-time gold medallist ‘let her country down’.
Biles, the most successful US gymnast of all time, said she wanted to ‘focus on her mental health’ after pulling out of the women’s team final in Tokyo.
The 24-year-old has also withdrawn from Thursday’s individual all-around final, with her decision to prioritise her mental health praised by the head of the US Olympic team and fellow athletes.
Biles was due to defend her all-around title tomorrow before competing in the finals of the vault and uneven bars on Sunday, floor on Monday and beam on Tuesday.
‘She quit,’ Morgan wrote in a column for the Daily Mail. ‘The world’s greatest ever gymnast just gave up at the first hurdle of these Olympics.
‘She left her team to fight on without their leader and supreme motivational champion, and rather than win the Gold medal they were hot favourites to win.
‘When you quit, you were performing as part of a gymnastics team, not yourself. What exactly is so courageous, heroic or inspiring about quitting on your team and country in an Olympics?
‘Simone Biles was so traumatised by her experience that she reappeared, all smiles, a little later to cheer her on the team she’d abandoned as they tried and failed to win the Gold they’d have almost certainly won if she’d stayed and battled on. That’s a weird optic for a sporting champion, isn’t it?’
Morgan added: ‘The three other girls in the team couldn’t win Gold without her, though I admire them for stepping up to the plate and trying.
‘And I expected justified criticism for Biles’ selfish decision to leave them to lose without her. But none came.’
Biles, who won four gold medals at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, scored her lowest vault score at the Games in the opening rotation before withdrawing from the final.
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The American superstar left the arena before returning to support her teammates, who claimed silver behind the Russian Olympic Committee.
Following Biles’ withdrawal, USA gymnastics said in a statement: ‘Simone will continue to be evaluated daily to determine whether or not to participate in next week’s individual event finals.
‘We wholeheartedly support Simone’s decision and applaud her bravery in prioritising her wellbeing. Her courage shows, yet again, why she is a role model for so many.’
Biles, meanwhile, said: ‘After the performance I did, I just didn’t want to go on. I have to focus on my mental health. I just think mental health is more prevalent in sports right now.
‘We have to protect our minds and our bodies and not just go out and do what the world wants us to do.
‘I don’t trust myself as much anymore. Maybe it’s getting older. There were a couple of days when everybody tweets you and you feel the weight of the world.
‘We’re not just athletes. We’re people at the end of the day and sometimes you just have to step back.’
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