BelgianLady wrote:
Precious Roy wrote:
Biles had the following on her shoulders coming into the OGs:
1. Larry Nassar sexual abuse
2. Public fight with US Gymnastics over response (or lack thereof) to Nassar scandal
3. Massive COVID restrictions at the games
4. Being 24 in a sport where gymnasts are pretty much used up by age 18.
5. Overwhelming media speculation that Biles was going to lap the field and lead the US to a guaranteed gold in the team event
From very early on in the qualifiers, it was clear that Biles was not right. And there were signs at US nationals that she was not right. She had a fall of the balance beam early, which is something that was almost unthinkable for her. She was able to recover and win the US championship, but similar mistakes started cropping up in her performance at the OGs, from stepping off the mat in the floor to the terrible vault in the final. She was breaking down mentally and couldn't get back her focus. She didn't quit. She did what many team athletes never do. She had enough self awareness to know that she was breaking down and would pull her team down with her if she continued.
Totally agree. She probably wasn't feeling well before the beginning, she still tried. Result = that poor vault. She had the guts to say "I quit because obviously my back-up will do better scores than I".
Is that the excuse she getting? Does she really believe her pack up would be better than her? I thought she just quit because she was emotionally distraught.