TOKYO — On Tuesday, the greatest gymnast of all time pulled herself from the greatest stage of her career. After one event in the team final, a flubbed vault, Simone Biles told her teammates and coaches that she could not continue. Her status for the rest of the Olympics remains in doubt.
Cameras caught her telling team doctor Marcia Faustin, “I don’t want to do it. I’m done.”
The U.S. took silver without her, falling for the first time in an Olympics or world championship since 2010. In a result once thought unimaginable, Russia won gold, with 169.