Simone Bilesis getting major support from her 2016 Summer Olympics teammates afterwithdrawing from the team competitionin Tokyo this year.
BothAly RaismanandLaurie Hernandezaddressed her exit while speaking to theTodayshow Tuesday after news broke suddenly that Biles, 24, would not be competing in the team final “due to a medical issue.”
Calling the news “horrible,” Raisman, 27, said she’s"completely devastated" and “obviously so worriedand just hoping that Simone is okay.”
Simone Biles.Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images
At the same time, Raisman said, “It’s also just really important to think about how much pressure has been on her, and there’s only so much that someone can take.”
“She’s human, and I think sometimes people forget that,” the retired gymnast noted. “And Simone, just like everyone else, isdoing the best that she can.”
Hernandez, 21, said onTodaythat many fans watching “are speculating every little thing” about why Biles bowed out of the team competition, adding, “Ican’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.”
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“When something like this happens, there’s just immense pressure [and] this feeling of, ‘I don’t want to let my team down,’ " she continued. “We don’t want to speculate [about why she exited] … at the end of the day, mentally, physically, we just want to make sure she’s okay.”
A surprising reversal of her Tokyo Olympic hopes, Bilesexited the women’s gymnastics team finalearly Tuesday night in Japan — after briefly leaving the floor following a botched showing on the vault, her first event.
“Simone has withdrawn from the team final competition due to a medical issue,” USA Gymnastics said in a statement to PEOPLE and other outlets. “She will be assessed daily to determine medical clearance for future competitions.”
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The reigning Olympicall-around champion andfive-time medalist, Biles left the competition floor with the team’s medical trainer Marcia Faustin following her routine on Tuesday, in which she bailed on her planned Amanar vault for an easier 1.5 twist and posted a 13.766.
It marks the lowest vault score ofBiles' Olympics career, an event in which she has dominated for years.
Soon after leaving, Biles returned to the floor before the U.S. competed on uneven bars. She was seen hugging her teammates and, as she remained on the side, was dressed in her white Team USA warm-up gear.
ReserveJordan Chiles,Suni LeeandGrace McCallumwill continue on with the competition, in which they trail the Russian athletes, their rivals.
“Having to put that much pressure on [Simone] to carry the team to gold, it’s not fair,” Hernandezsaid on theTodayshow Tuesday. “This is a team of four, not a team of one. … Hopefully we can get into gold. We’ll see what happens. But these girls are really coming in as underdogs right now.”
Simone Biles.Laurence Griffiths/Getty
On Monday, Biles insisted she was shaking offher preliminary-round errorsand embracing a “fresh start” for the all-around and individual event finals.
“I truly do feel like Ihave the weight of the world on my shouldersat times. I know I brush it off and make it seem like pressure doesn’t affect me but damn sometimes it’s hard hahaha! The Olympics is no joke!” the two-time Olympian said.
“BUT I’m happy my family was able to be with me virtually🤍 they mean the world to me!” Biles added, sharing a selfie she took of herself and a monitor which showed her parents cheering her on from the U.S.
To learn more about Team USA, visitTeamUSA.org. Watch the Tokyo Olympics now on NBC.
source: people.com
