Simone Biles Experienced 'Twisties' Before Olympics Withdrawal: 'My Mind & Body Are Simply Not In Sync'
Simone Biles is opening up more about why she withdrew from the individual all-around competition at the Olympics earlier this week.
The 24-year-old took to Instagram to answer some questions on Thursday, July 29, and explained there's a disconnect she experienced between her mind and body.
Biles had experienced what is known as "the twisties" at the first event of the team final, when she seemed to get lost in the air.
Biles did one 1/2 twist instead of two 1/2 twists in mid-air and scored a 13.766 — the lowest score of her Olympics career. Fellow gymnast Andrea Orris explained that what happened was serious, as Biles "could have been severely injured getting lost in the air like that.",
Biles shared a clip of herself practicing the uneven bars on Instagram where she tries a 1½ twist, but falls flat on her back. "For anyone saying I quit, I didn’t quit my mind & body are simply not in sync" she captioned the clip.
"I don't think you realize how dangerous this is on hard/competitive surface," she also commented on the video. "Nor do I have to explain why I put my health first."
"Physical health is mental health," she wrote at the bottom of the post.
Biles also shared another clip where she explained that "the twisties" do not always happen, and that it "randomly started happening after prelims competition the VERY next morning" after she left the U.S.
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"By that time NO alternate was allowed to be placed in my position for you 'know it alls,'" Biles continued, "we have 4 on a team for a reason. I chose not to continue team competition in jeopardizing losing a medal (of any color) for the girls/US."
The athlete added to the post that the decision was also to protect her own health and safety.
In another Story, Biles said while twisting she "cannot tell up from down. It's the craziest feeling ever. Not having an inch of control over your body."
"What's even scarier is since I have no idea where I am in the air I also have NO idea how I'm going to land, or what I'm going to land on. Head/hands/feet/back," she added.
In the following Instagram Story, Biles said her departure was not a case of her having a bad performance and quitting, because she has continued after bad performances in the past. Her explanations come after Piers Morgan slammed Biles, and pondered if mental health issues are "now the go-to excuse for any poor performance in elite sport?"
Earlier this week, Biles thanked fans on Twitter for the love and support she has received and said that it helped her to "realize I’m more than my accomplishments and gymnastics which I never truly believed before."
