American gymnast Simone Biles has earned a bronze medal on the balance beam portion of the Olympics. This was the final Olympic event of her career.
Biles was in the news the past week for her mental health break while in Tokyo. During one routine, she got the "twisties" mid-air, which is a term that gymnasts use when they get lost in the air. She immediately walked off and began her mental health break.
16-year-old Guan Chenchen from China won the gold and teammate Tang Xijing Tag took silver. Biles was right alongside them winning the bronze medal of the event.
“I was just happy to be able to perform regardless of the outcome,” Biles said. “I did it for me and I was happy to be able to compete one more time … Training for five years and coming here and kind of being triggered and not being able to do anything wasn’t fun.”
“These Olympic Games, I wanted it to be about myself,” Biles said last week, as her voice shook with emotion and tears welled up in her eyes. “And I came in and I felt I was still doing it for other people and it hurts my heart that doing what I love has been taken away from me to please other people."
During her time off, she worked out in the gym and worked with mental health professionals. She also spent most of her time cheering on her teammates from the sidelines. It was obvious that she wanted to compete but knew herself better. Instead of forcing herself to compete and risking dangerous injury, she took the time to get into the correct headspace. Because of that, she placed in her last-ever event.