Olympic champion Simone Biles is about to make a comeback to gymnastics after bowing out of a number of occasions on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to give attention to her psychological well being.
Biles, who overcame childhood starvation and sexual abuse to turn out to be the world’s best gymnast, will participate within the annual US Classic on 5 August, in what might be her first competitors for the reason that Olympic Games.
She has stayed out of the limelight for nearly two years after making headlines in 2020 for withdrawing from a number of occasions.
The 26-year-old stated she was “more than her accomplishments” as she thanked followers for the “outpouring of love and support” she had acquired.
She opened up in regards to the stress she felt as one of many stars of Tokyo 2020 – shifting the main focus from the video games to athletes’ total wellbeing.
The 2016 Olympic gold medallist claimed a bronze within the ladies’s stability beam last within the Japanese capital – taking her total tally of Olympic medals to seven.
She stated she was “proud of myself” after her third-place end, including: “I’ll treasure this one a lot more after everything I have been through.”
Biles is amongst 11 Olympic and World Championships medallists within the line-up for the US Classic, set to happen on 4-5 August on the NOW Arena within the suburbs of Chicago.
Her comeback was introduced by USA Gymnastics, the US’s nationwide governing physique for the game.
USA Gymnastics chief packages officer, Stefanie Korepin, stated: “It is exciting to think about the level of talent and historical legacy of the field that may compete at US Classic.
“Every athlete is at a distinct place of their season and profession, and we are going to help every of them, wherever they’re of their journey.”
Since her dramatic departure from the Olympics, Biles headlined her post-Olympic tour in autumn 2021 and likewise obtained married to former NFL star Jonathan Owens earlier this yr.
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The US gymnast shared a few footage of their huge day together with her 6.8m Instagram followers, captioning one photograph displaying them hand-in-hand: “I do… officially Owens.”
She has since turn out to be a vocal advocate for athletes in want of psychological well being help.
The US Classic has been likened to a warm-up for the nationwide championships, scheduled in San Jose in late August.
The occasion will see Biles compete alongside Sunisa Lee – the primary Asian-American girl to win Olympic gold within the ladies’s gymnastics all-around on the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Harry Kane and Jordan Pickford are amongst Premier League stars who’ve revealed how they handle their wellbeing as a part of Sky Sports documentary, Tackling the Stigma, produced in help of this yr’s Mental Health Awareness Week in May.
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Source: information.sky.com”