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Simone Biles Praises Sunisa Lee's Gold Medal Win in IG Video: 'The Queen Has Arrived'
July 29, 2021
Simone Biles was in attendance to watch Sunisa Lee win the women's gymnastics individual all-around gold medal Thursday at the Tokyo Olympics, and then she celebrated her Team USA teammate's achievement on Instagram.
Biles won the all-around title at the 2016 Rio Games and would have been the heavy favorite in Thursday's competition, but she opted to withdraw in order to focus on her mental health.
The four-time Olympic gold medalist stepped aside during the team competition Tuesday, saying she had "never felt like this before" and explained she didn't want to let her teammates down.
"Once I came out here, I was like, no the mental is not there," Biles said. "I had to let the girls do it."
She returned to the floor to cheer on the remainder of Team USA's gymnasts as they went on to win the silver medal in the team event, and she was back in the arena Thursday to root for Lee and teammate Jade Carey, who finished eighth in the all-around final.
"She told me, 'Good luck,' and go out there, do the best I can and have fun," Carey told reporters about a conversation with Biles before the event.
Biles is still eligible to take part in the discipline finals: the vault and uneven bars on Sunday, the floor exercise on Monday and the balance beam on Tuesday. She hasn't indicated whether she'll compete.
Lee continued the run of dominance by the U.S. in the women's all-around. Americans have taken the top spot on the podium in the event in every Olympics since 2004, a streak featuring Carly Patterson, Nastia Liukin, Gabby Douglas, Biles and now Lee.