The teenage Gadirova twins are emblematic of Team GB’s relentless talent factory, now they are a pair of very modern medalists. Precociously talented, steely of nerve, born in Dublin, raised in London, with a father from Azerbaijan and authors of another glorious moment for Great Britain at this Olympics. It is very unfortunate that it has to happen at this stage, because I definitely want to just do a little bit better, but again, take it one day at a time, we're gonna see how the rest goes." Teenage Gadirova twins star as Team GB snatch unlikely bronzeīy Thom Gibbs, Senior Sports Writer, in Tokyo "There is more than life to just gymnastics. I feel like a lot of athletes speaking up helps. So sometimes it is okay to take a back seat, even at the most important meet."īiles added: "As I’ve gotten older I’ve been more outspoken about things that I care about, like mental health and all of that stuff. "It’s like, wow she’s one of the greatest athletes in the world and she took a step back and now look at her, she’s back here at the Olympics dominating. "A couple of days ago I watched her whole docu-series on Netflix and it really shined a light on it. "She’s been a huge inspiration," Biles added. Explaining her decision to let the team call in a replacement, she said: "After the performance that I did, I didn't want to go into any of the other events second guessing myself so I thought it was better if I took a step back and let these girls go out there and do the job and they did just that." On an extraordinary night at the Tokyo gymnastics centre, the British team of Alice Kinsella, Amelie Morgan and 16-year-old twins Jennifer and Jessica Gadirova impressed throughout to eventually move above Italy in the final rotation.Īfterwards, amid a media scrum, Biles delivered a a searingly honest description of the reasoning behind her sudden loss of confidence. "It is very unfortunate that it has to happen at this stage, because I definitely want to just do a little bit better, but again, take it one day at a time. "There is more to life than just gymnastics," she added. With the controversial Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) team going on to snatch another gold, Biles said that she hoped her openness and honesty about her struggles would have more impact than winning medals. Completing only one-and-a-half twists, Biles took a large step forward on her landing and left the arena floor soon after, appearing close to tears. However, she lost her way during an attempted Amanar 2.5 twist. Having earlier this year become the first female athlete to perform a Yurchenko double pike in a competition, Biles had been seen since as a shoo-in to strike golds in Japan. The American star had hinted at problems prior to Tuesday night's final, writing on Instagram that she felt like she had "the weight of the world on my shoulders at times". "I came into here and I felt like I was still doing it for other people, so that just hurts my heart." "I feel like I'm also not having as much fun and I know that this Olympic Games, I wanted it to be for myself," she added. Nassar was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison for sexually abusing women and girls as a doctor for USA Gymnastics and at Michigan State University after being accused of abusing more than 150 people, including Biles. "I just don't trust myself as much as I used to, and I don't know if it's age - I'm a little bit more nervous when I do gymnastics." "With the year that it's been, I'm really not surprised that it played out ," she said afterwards, fighting back tears. She said her personal turmoil means "doing what I love has been kind of taken away from me".Īlthough the 24-year-old returned to the area midway through the team competition, she put on her tracksuit and did not compete again as the Americans finished second, with Team GB taking a surprise bronze. The Tokyo Games, in which Biles had been expected to shatter the sport’s Olympic records, have been the first since she spoke out in detail about the sexual abuse she faced from former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. She then spoke frankly of her turmoil to reporters afterwards, saying she had undergone therapy and taken medication, but had “freaked out in a high stress situation”. A tearful Simone Biles has revealed how she “just didn’t want to go on” after her dramatic “freak out” led to her withdrawing from the team gymnastics event.īiles, widely regarded as the sport's greatest ever athlete, revealed she had been struggling with mental health problems, as her future at Tokyo 2020 was plunged into serious doubt.Īfter misjudging her opening vault, scoring the worst performance of her Olympics career of 13.766, Biles told her trainer “I don’t want to do it - I am done”.
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