New on Sports Illustrated: Simone Biles Withdraws From Individual All-Around Event at Tokyo Olympics

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Biles won the individual all-around event at the 2016 Rio Olympics, becoming the fourth straight American woman to win gold.

Simone Biles will not defend her gold medal in the individual all-around event, USA Gymnastics announced. 

The NBC broadcast first broke the news, saying the four-time gold medalist has withdrawn from the event in order to focus on her mental health.

The decision comes after Biles

withdrew during the opening routine of the team gymnastics finals on Tuesday. Biles won the 2016 event in Rio, becoming the fourth straight American woman to win the individual all-around. 

"After further medical evaluation, Simone Biles has withdrawn from the final individual all-around competition," USA Gymnastics said in a statement. "We wholeheartedly support Simone’s decision and applaud her bravery in prioritizing her well-being. 

"Her courage shows, yet again, why she is a role model for so many."Her courage shows, yet again, why she is a role model for so many."

After Tuesday's event, where the U.S. finished second to the Russian Olympic Committee, Biles said that she wanted to focus on doing "what’s right for me and focus on my mental health."

“I just don’t trust myself as much as I used to,” Biles said on Tuesday. “I don’t know if it’s age, but I'm a little bit more nervous when I do gymnastics. I feel like I'm also not having as much fun, and I know that this Olympic Games I wanted to do it for myself, and I was still doing it for other people, so that just hurts my heart badly, that doing what I love has been taken away.”

USA Gymnastics announced that Jade Carey, who finished with the ninth-highest score in qualification, will take Biles's place in the individual all-around event. 

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