Four time Olympic Gold medalist Simone Biles pulls out of gymnastics final due to medical issues.

24 year Old Simone Biles’ participation in the Tokyo Olympics 2020 has come to a halt. On Tuesday, she was dramatically withdrawn from the team final with a “medical issue”.

USA Gymnastics put out a statement saying she had withdrawn on medical grounds. “Simone Biles has withdrawn from the team final competition due to a medical issue. She will be assessed daily to determine medical clearance for future competitions,” read the statement.

Official statement: "Simone Biles has withdrawn from the team final competition due to a medical issue. She will be assessed daily to determine medical clearance for future competitions."

Thinking of you, Simone! pic.twitter.com/QA1GYHwWTv

— USA Gymnastics (@USAGym) July 27, 2021

The American gymnastics superstar exited the final after a lackluster opening vault. She briefly left the competition floor, before returning to join her teammates.

I feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders: Simone Biles

In an Instagram post on Monday the 24-year-old said she sometimes feels like she has “the weight of the world” on her shoulders, Simone Biles.

The four-times Olympic champion said that she had been struggling mentally in recent days. After the vault, she decided that she wanted to “take a back seat” in the team final. But Simone has full faith in her teammates to win a medal.

Biles will take things one day at a time instead of making rash decisions regarding her presence in the all around final on Thursday. When asked by reporters later what her goal was for these Games, Biles replied: “To focus on my wellbeing. You know there’s more to life than just gymnastics.”

In her absence, the Russian Olympic Committee clinched the gold medal, comfortably defeating a USA team that performed admirably without their biggest star. It was the first time that the United States lost a major gymnastics team competition since 2010.

Simone Biles’ GOLDen history

The Ohio native burst onto the scene with her stunning performances at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Biles made history at the 2016 Olympics in Rio by winning four gold medals. She equalled the record for most gymnastics medals won by a woman at a single Games. In doing so, she became the fifth female athlete to achieve the feat.

Except for her four gold medals, which came in the floor, vault, individual all-around and team events, the then 19-year-old also won a bronze medal in the balance beam category.

Her dominance in the sport has extended to world gymnastics championships too. She has competed in five world championships – in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018 and most recently in 2019 – winning 19 gold medals, three silver medals and two bronze medals overall. Her tally of 19 world championship gold medals and 24 world championship medals overall are both gymnastics records.