USA Gym: Simone Biles out of team finals with medical issue

By WILL GRAVES

TOKYO (AP) — Reigning Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles is retired of the squad finals with what USA Gymnastics described arsenic a aesculapian issue.

The 24-year-old U.S. star, considered to beryllium the top gymnast of each time, huddled with a trainer aft landing her vault. She past exited the contention level with the squad doctor.

Biles returned respective minutes later. She took disconnected her barroom grips, hugged teammates Grace McCallum, Sunisa Lee and Jordan Chiles earlier putting connected a overgarment and sweatpants. Chiles replaced Biles connected uneven bars and equilibrium beam.

The Americans volition beryllium forced to decorativeness the remainder of the contention without her, severely hampering their bid to assertion a 3rd consecutive Olympic title.

The U.S. began finals connected vault, with Biles going last. She was expected to bash an “Amanar,” a vault that begins with a roundoff backmost handspring onto the array followed by 2 1/2 twists. She seemed to alteration her caput successful mid-air, doing conscionable 1 1/2 twist instead.

She walked disconnected the podium and was tended to by squad doc Marcia Faustin earlier making her mode retired of the arena.

USA Gymnastics did not specify the quality of Biles’ aesculapian issue, saying successful a connection she “will beryllium assessed regular to find aesculapian clearance for aboriginal competitions.”

Biles is scheduled to support her Olympic rubric successful the all-around last connected Thursday. She besides qualified for each 4 lawsuit finals aboriginal successful the Games.

Whether she volition get that accidental remains to beryllium seen.

Biles arrived successful Tokyo arsenic the unquestioned prima of the Games but struggled, astatine slightest by her precocious standards, during qualifying. In a societal media station connected Monday, she admitted she felt similar the value of the satellite was connected her shoulders and that the Olympics “were nary joke.”

Biles won 5 medals successful Rio de Janeiro 5 years agone and earned the close to triumph arsenic galore arsenic six successful Tokyo aft making 5 finals.

After 3 rotations, the United States trailed ROC by 0.8 points with the level workout remaining.

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