Simone Biles hugs a teammate during the women's team final on day four of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Photo: Fred Lee via Getty Images
Former and current Olympic gymnasts are rallying behind Simone Biles after she pulled out of the team and individual all-around competitions due to mental health concerns.
Why it matters: Leading up to the Tokyo Olympics, Biles was billed as the favored gold medalist and greatest of all time. But the weight that came with bearing the title led her to step away, resulting in support and praise for her honesty in discussing mental health challenges.
What they're saying:
- Olympic gymnast and Biles' teammate MyKayla Skinner: "My heart broke for her. I can’t imagine what she’s going through right now."
- "We are all human," she added. "She deserves all the support in the world right now. And still our GOAT!!!"
- Olympic gymnast and Biles' teammate Jordan Chiles: "This medal is definitely for her, because if it wasn't for her, we wouldn't be here ... We wouldn't be silver Olympic medalists [if not for] who she is as a person."
- Former Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez: "There is so much pressure on this woman to go out and to dominate and win the U.S. all these medals. At the end of the day, she is a human being. I'm really proud of her."
- "I can't imagine what she's feeling right now, because people have been keeping a very close eye on her for the last few years and of course, this is the moment where everybody wants to tune in."
- Former Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman: "I know that all of these athletes dream of this moment for their whole entire lives, and so I’m just completely devastated. I am obviously so worried and just hoping that Simone is okay."
- "I think this just really shows the lack of leadership at USA Gymnastics and the United States Olympic Committee," she later told CNN. "I mean, their best athlete is struggling, and is there someone there to help her?
- "It was not discussed much when I was training, and we didn't feel like we had access to mental-health experts to help us through the stress. So that's definitely something that needs to change."
Go deeper: Simone Biles is still a winner