Simon Biles’ Teammates Shared The Most Heartwarming Messages Of Support

On Tuesday, July 27, Simone Biles unexpectedly pulled out of the Olympic women’s team final to focus on her mental health. While the decision shocked fans all around the world, the rest of the U.S. women’s gymnastics team was quick to weigh in with words of support for their teammate. Simone Biles' teammates' reactions to her Olympics exit show that the members of the “Fighting Four” are no strangers to the pressure that comes with performing at the games — and they always have each other’s backs.

Biles, who is widely regarded as the GOAT of women’s gymnastics, took herself out of the final after she uncharacteristically stumbled while landing during the vault, per NBC. Following the event, she told reporters that the pressure got to her and she decided to exit the competition to protect her physical and mental health. “I didn’t want to go out there and do something dumb and get hurt and be negligent,” she said, according to video of the post-final press conference. “So, I knew for myself that I had to take a step back.”

Biles stood on the sidelines and cheered her teammates Grace McCallum, Sunisa Lee, and Jordan Chiles as the Fighting Four clinched a silver medal behind Russia. Following the competition, the three athletes took to social media to applaud each other for their hard work and to express support for Biles.

“Never been prouder to be apart [sic] of such an amazing team with an amazing group of girls. we stepped up when we needed to and did this for ourselves,” Lee tweeted. “We do not owe anyone a gold medal, we are WINNERS in our hearts.”

Chiles shared a shout-out to her “best friend” Biles on Instagram with a sweet message and photos of her hugging Biles during the competition.

“To my best friend, just thinking about everything we have gone through together from us getting mad at each other for no reason to laughing at jokes, to bringing the love of this sport back to me with your help words can’t explain how proud I am of you. I LOVE YOU and am literally crying just thinking about everything. WE did this together-love jo,” she wrote.

McCallum hyped the Fighting Four in her Instagram post, writing, “OLYMPIC SILVER MEDALISTS. I’m so unbelievably proud of this team. We stuck together through it all and fought till the very end. I’m truly blessed to have to have such an amazing team, the fighting four.”

Biles also took to Instagram to shoutout her teammates. Along with a playful post with Chiles, which she captioned, “that’s my bestfriend, she a real bad b,” she also addressed the rest of the Fighting Four in another post.

“I’m SO proud of these girls right here,” she wrote. “You girls are incredibly brave & talented! I’ll forever be inspired by your determination to not give up and to fight through adversity! They stepped up when I couldn’t. thanks for being there for me and having my back! forever love y’all.”

While Biles was there to cheer on her teammates, her own future in the Olympics is uncertain. Following her exit from the team final, Biles also decided to withdraw from the individual all-around finals on Thursday, July 29, according to an official statement from USA Gymnastics. She will be evaluated again before deciding if she will compete in the individual finals for all four apparatuses. (The first two, vault and floor exercise, are scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 1.)

In a statement shared with Elite Daily, USA Gymnastics expressed their support for the athlete and revealed Jade Carey would compete in Biles’ stead in the all-around on Thursday.

“After further medical evaluation, Simone Biles has withdrawn from the final individual all-around competition at the Tokyo Olympic Games, in order to focus on her mental health,” the organization shared.

USA Gymnastics said Biles “will continue to be evaluated daily to determine whether or not to participate in next week’s individual event finals.” The organization added, “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.”

Only time will tell whether Biles competes in the individual finals, but the star athlete is currently keeping her focus where she should: on herself and her mental well-being.