Olympics-Biles out of next Tokyo event, as surging pandemic adds to drama

[July 28, 2021]  By Elaine Lies and Steve Keating

TOKYO (Reuters) -Simone Biles withdrew from the individual all-around competition at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday, a day after she shocked the world by pulling out of the team event, while COVID-19 infections surged to a record 3,177 in the host city.

American Biles will be evaluated to see if she can take part in the individual apparatus competitions, USA Gymnastics said in a statement on Twitter. Biles made the decision so she "can focus on her mental health," the organisation said, adding that it supported her "wholeheartedly".

Athletes such as tennis superstar Naomi Osaka and now Biles have highlighted the immense pressures on them, raising questions about whether global sporting figures get enough support for mental health.

Osaka lost in her Olympic singles event on Tuesday, her first tournament since pulling out of the French Open in May, when she said she had been suffering from depression for nearly three years.

The 24-year-old Biles first sent shockwaves through the Games on Tuesday when she dropped out of the team competition after receiving a low mark in her opening vault.

She had said the pressure of living up to expectations and her quest for a record gold medal haul had left her no choice.

"We have to protect our mind and our body rather than just go out there and do what the world wants us to do," Biles told reporters.

"More could be done" on athlete mental health, the spokesperson for the International Olympic Committee, Mark Adams, said. He said mental health remained a big issue and that it was a matter the organisation had been working on for some time.

COVID SURGES

But for Japan - in the midst of medal surge itself, bagging 11 gold medals already, second only to China - the surge in coronavirus cases threatened to overshadow the joy of victory.

The host city recorded 3,177 new cases on Wednesday, a daily record high for a second straight day as a spike in infections puts pressure on hospitals, and a new state of emergency was expected in three prefectures neighbouring the capital city.

Organisers have reported 169 COVID-19 cases related to the Games, a miniscule number given the tens of thousands of people visiting for the event.

The Games are taking place without spectators and under a state of emergency in Tokyo, unprecedented measures in the history of the modern Olympics.

Elsewhere in Tokyo, champion women made a splash as Australian Ariarne Titmus, American Katie Ledecky and Japan's Yui Ohashi clinched gold medals in swimming.

Silver medallist Simone Biles of the United States wearing a protective face mask holds flowers. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson

Their powerful showing underscored how women have emerged as the most commanding figures of the first week of the Tokyo Olympics.

In the pool, Titmus won a second gold medal at her first Olympics in the 200 metres freestyle.

"I'm just from a small town in Tasmania and it just goes to show if you believe you can do something, you can 100% do it if you work for it," Titmus told Australia's ABC News.

Ledecky took gold in the 1500m freestyle, the first time the event has been held for women. Diversity is a focus for the Tokyo Olympics with women's events being added in other sports, including boxing.

Titmus and Ledecky are expected to meet again in the 800m freestyle on Saturday, in which the American is heavily favoured, and they will be on opposite sides in the 4x200m relay.

Japan's Ohashi also claimed her second gold medal in the 200m medley after victory in the 400m medley on Sunday.
 

She pipped American Alex Walsh in the final freestyle leg of the race to the delight of her Japanese team mates in the spectator-free arena.

"Seems like a dream," said Ohashi. "It doesn’t feel real. In the last 15 it was really hard, my legs were really hurting but I just kept kicking."

In Rugby Sevens, Fiji maintained their dominance with a comprehensive 27-12 gold medal win over New Zealand at the Tokyo Stadium, retaining the title they won in Rio five years ago.

China earned their third diving gold medal when Wang Zongyuan and Xie Siyi triumphed in the men's 3 metre synchronised springboard, reclaiming the title they lost to Britain in Rio.

(Reporting by Simon Evens, Steve Keating; Additional reporting by Reuters Olympics team; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Shri Navaratnam, Stephen Coates, Ed Osmond and Christian Radnedge)

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