Gymnastics: Biles admits huge pressure ahead Tuesday’s final
Simone Biles has said she has the ‘weight of the world’ on her shoulders after yesterday’s lacklustre U.S. women’s gymnastics performances.
In qualifying for the finals, the U.S. team of gold-medal hopefuls were beaten into second place by Russia with Biles and teammates uncharacteristically faulting during their disciplines.
The 24-year-old superstar from Spring, Texas, is vying for five more golds to add to her tally from Rio in 2016.
‘Now to prepare for finals. It wasn’t an easy day or my best but I got through it,’ she wrote in an Instagram post on Monday.
‘I truly do feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders at times.
‘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!’
She added: ‘BUT I’m happy my family was able to be with me virtually they mean the world to me!’ Biles added.
She accompanied her post by sharing a selfie with a monitor in the background which showed her parents cheering her on from the U.S.
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Biles and her squad will return on Tuesday to defend their title against Russia.
The United States has won the team event in every Olympics and world championship since 2011 but Russia fired a warning shot at the Americans during Sunday’s qualification round when they took top spot in the rankings.