“We are so excited to confirm that you will see two U.S. athletes in the balance beam final tomorrow - Suni Lee AND Simone Biles!! Can’t wait to watch you both,” USA Gymnastics announced Monday morning. The balance beam event final will take place on August 3 at 4:00 am EST (live Stream in the US will be on NBCOlympics.com and Peacock). It will be broadcast on NBC that same night at 9:30 pm EST. Biles, 24, previously withdrew from the gymnastics team final last week, then pulled out of the all-around, vault, bars and floor finals after getting a case of the “twisties,” a feeling that she explained is when she “literally can not tell up from down” when she’s working, a sensation of getting lost while she’s in the air. “Sometimes I can’t even fathom twisting,” she explained. “I seriously cannot comprehend how to twist.” “It’s the craziest feeling ever,” she wrote in an Instagram Story last week. “Not having an inch of control over your body.” She added that twisties “could be triggered by stress I hear but I’m also not sure how true that is.” Last week, Biles explained that she withdrew from the team finals “to focus on my well-being and there’s more to life than just gymnastics. It is very unfortunate that it has to happen at this stage.” She noted that she planned to “take it one day at a time” and addressed the immense pressure she’s under to perform. “I feel like I’m also not having as much fun—and this Olympic Games I wanted it to be for myself and it felt like I was still doing for other people,” she said. “And that hurts my heart that doing what I love has been taken away from me.” Biles also addressed her withdrawal in an Instagram post last week. “Prelims now to prepare for finals. It wasn’t an easy day or my best but I got through it. I truly do feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders at times,” she wrote. “I know I brush it off and make it seem like pressure doesn’t affect me but damn sometimes it’s hard hahaha! The Olympics is no joke! BUT I’m happy my family was able to be with me virtually. They mean the world to me!” Thankfully, Biles has the full support of her teammates, coaches and other Olympians, including Michael Phelps, who’ve all spoken out in solidarity with her. Next, test your Olympics knowledge with these 125 trivia questions and answers!
