Simone Biles took to Twitter Wednesday night to thank supporters after her withdrawal from key gymnastics events after failing to stick her landing on a vault at the Tokyo Olympics.
"The outpouring love & support I’ve received has made me realize I’m more than my accomplishments and gymnastics which I never truly believed before," the 24-year-old Olympian tweeted along with a heart emoji.
In a post-competition interview with NBC, Biles explained that she was working through a "mental" problem.
"We’re just dealing with a couple of things right now. So we’re just going to focus at heading into other competitions," Biles said. "But I’m excited that these girls could step up to the plate as fast as they could with the switch out and I’m proud of how they did tonight."
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Biles' sudden withdrawal from the women's team gymnastics final and the individual all-around final this week has prompted a worldwide conversation on athletes and mental health.
Some gymnasts are citing "the twisties," -- a phenomenon wherein an experienced athlete suddenly loses their sense of where their body is in space -- as a factor for her exit.
Her decision has been lauded by her former mental health trainer Robert Andrews and Olympian Dominique Moceanu, among others.
Biles could still compete in next week's individual finals, and will continue to be evaluated daily for future competitions, according to a statement from the USA Gymnastics team.
