Well, welcome to the U.S. team and congratulations to the silver medal.
Simone, what happened after the landing of your vault?
I just felt like it would be a little bit better to take a back seat.
I didn't want to risk the team a medal for kind of my screw-ups.
It's been really stressful this olympic games.
I say put mental health first. It's okay sometimes
to even sit out the big competitions to focus on yourself.
Anchor: Simone Biles, considered the greatest gymnast in history
has pulled out of the team competition at the Tokyo Olympics.
Simone Biles said her mind and body simply are not in sync.
This is about to thy self be true and that is what she's doing.
She's taking care of herself.
When you spend your whole life perfecting one thing,
it quickly comes to define you.
I am a gymnast.
For the thousands of hours Simone has spent in the gym,
she has probably said that single sentence a thousand times more.
I am a gymnast.
When you're younger, being a gymnast means
learning cool flips and bouncing around the gym.
We are labeled little daredevils.
We are fearless.
We learn early on that we can do hard things,
and Simone has done hard things,
over and over and over again.
Simone's gymnastics has proven limitless.
But while the physical demand is overwhelming,
the mental load can be unbearable.
The last four years have taken so much.
Anchor: Simone Biles saying she was also molested by team
doctor Larry Nassar.
More than 265 victims have come forward since the scandal broke.
Suddenly Simone wasn't just a gymnast.
She was a survivor and an advocate.
She became the voice for so many, and she refused to keep quiet.
They couldn't do one damn job.
You had one job. You literally had one job.
And you couldn't protect us.
The gym became her sanctuary and also a steady reminder of the trauma she's endured.
But she powered through and proved she is powerful.
She embraced her strength and willed herself to remain strong.
She reclaimed control of her own destiny.
This summer, in the midst of the greatest pressure cooker an athlete can experience,
Simone made her bravest, boldest move yet.
She stopped.
The woman with the limitless gymnastics recognized her limit.
She met it. She faced it head-on and she chose a different path.
She chose not to power through.
She chose not to risk her life and her safety for her sport.
She chose herself.
And by doing so, she gave us all permission to put ourselves first.
She reminded us that winning isn't everything,
that it's okay to say no.
Her voice,
her choice,
her bold, authentic, unapologetic decision
has inspired a movement.
I am a gymnast.
Simone Biles has uttered that sentence a thousand times.
She has lived it.
She is the greatest her sport has ever witnessed.
But she is so much more than just a gymnast,
and this summer, she proved it.