Simone Biles Makes History Yet Again In Her Return To The Tokyo Olympics

The minute Simone Biles returned from her short hiatus at the Tokyo Olympics, she made history.

Source: Anadolu Agency / Getty

Simone Biles’ highly-anticipated return to competition at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday might not have been the number one finish fans were hoping for, but she was still able to make history by winning a bronze medal on the balance beam.

Biles only had a few very minor flaws in her routine before delivering a resounding double-pike dismount. After making it off the beam, she got hugs from the other competitors and jumped up and down–a beautiful sight to see considering her personal struggles with mental health related to to this very competition.

Once she was awarded her bronze medal, Biles made history, tying Shannon Miller as the most decorated U.S. gymnast with seven medals in her Olympic career. Still, she has two more gold medals than Miller, which should obviously count for something.

Unfortunately for other members of Team USA, things didn’t go quite as well. Sunisa Lee, who became a fan favorite as she supplanted Biles as the all-around champion, nearly fell after a difficult sequence and ended up finishing fifth.

Guan Chenchen of China, who performed last, won gold with a score of 14.633. Tang Xijing of China got the silver with 14.233, and Biles notched a 14.00.

The balance beam ended up being Biles’ lone individual event after she dropped out of the team competition following an awkward vault, citing concerns over her mental health. The team still captured a silver medal in her absence.

After that, she withdrew from the all-around, which is when Lee won the coveted title previously held by her teammate.

Revealing that she was still getting lost in the air during acrobatic moves, Biles pulled out of three of the four individual events. In her absence, MyKayla Skinner, her replacement in the vault, took silver; Lee grabbed bronze in the uneven bars; and Jade Carey delivered with a gold in the floor exercise.

The USA gymnastics team visited TODAY in Tokyo to talk about their individual triumphs along with Simone’s return, with all of her teammates admitting just how bad they felt when hearing about Biles’ decision to pull out.

“She’s been working so long for this and she’s not a quitter … we all pulled together,” he teammate and best friend Jordan Chiles said of her withdrawal.

“We’re not just athletes or entertainment, we’re human, too, and we have real emotions,” Biles said about her struggles with mental health. “It wasn’t an easy decision.”

Check out their full interview down below:

Categories: Congratulations