Simone Biles, the U.S. gymnast who withdrew from Tokyo 2020 Olympic events to prioritize her mental health, has thanked fans for their "love and support" amid an outpouring of praise and well wishes from people around the world.

The 24-year-old, who is one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, withdrew from Thursday's individual all-around competition yesterday after stepping away from the team competition earlier in the week. She cited mental heath concerns and the need to protect "her body and mind."

In a tweet published Wednesday, Biles addressed the support she has since received from fans and said it had shown her she was "more" than her sporting accomplishments.

"The outpouring love and support I've received has made me realize I'm more than my accomplishments and gymnastics, which I never truly believed before," Biles said.

USA Gymnastics said in a statement earlier on Wednesday that it supported her decision "wholeheartedly" and applauded her "bravery."

"Her courage shows, yet again, why she is a role model for so many," USA Gymnastics said.

Biles, who had been a favorite to win gold in the final, has won every individual all-around competition that she has entered since 2013 and won four gold medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

But on Tuesday, while attempting an advanced vault that involves a back handspring with two-and-a-half twists in the air before landing, Biles faltered and left the field of play close to tears.

The weight of the world on her shoulders

Writing on Instagram earlier in the week she said she felt "the weight of the world on [her] 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!" she wrote in the post.

Her honesty about the pressure of competition and mental health has been supported by fellow athletes, as well as sponsors including Visa, American Airlines and Uber Eats.

Three-time Olympic gold medalist and former teammate Aly Raisman is among those to voice their support for Biles.

She criticized USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Committee for a lack of leadership in supporting athletes and said athletes were "people at the end of the day."

"USA Gymnastics has been an absolute disaster for years and unfortunately not enough has changed for us to believe in a safer future, but I think this just really shows the lack of leadership [of] USA Gymnastics and the United States Olympic Committee," she told CNN Tuesday.

"Does Simone have the support that she needs?" continued Raisman. "Do other athletes have the support that they need?"

She added: "It's a tremendous amount of pressure... I'm completely devastated and I support her so much."

Paula Radcliffe, the former team GB runner who was labeled a "quitter" when she was forced to withdrawn from the 2004 Athens Olympic marathon a few miles before the finish line due to injury, spoke of her own experience in an interview with CNN on Thursday.

"Neither one of us quit. Our bodies just weren't able to do it," Radcliffe said.

"Very few people actually understand the relationship between your mind and your body ... particularly in something that's really physically, or mentally -- or both -- taxing, you really need to know when to push through it and when to listen to your body, and it's what has made her the great champion that she is," she added.

"I would argue that she's actually even stronger mentally for being able to make that call now," Radcliffe said of Biles.

In a way, the massive upheaval that upended the U.S. Olympic world over the past five years was designed for the sort of moment Simone Biles faced.

Not long after Biles withdrew from the gymnastics team final Tuesday night, the leader of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee said she was convinced as ever that changes geared toward a sharper focus on the overall health of athletes — not just the medals they win — have been worth it.

Sarah Hirshland, the CEO of the USOPC, told The Associated Press if a new atmosphere the federation has tried to create played any small part in offering comfort to Biles as she wrestled with what to do, “then I’m thrilled that it was a safe enough space for her to make that decision."

“Whether it's our organization, the changes at (USA Gymnastics) or whether it's because it's a conversation that’s been happening in society and in the athlete community overall, it’s positive,” Hirshland said.

Biles said she pulled out of Tuesday's meet because “I have to do what’s right for me and focus on my mental health and not jeopardize my health and my well-being."

Hirshland came aboard at the USOPC in 2018, shortly after details emerged about former gymnastics coach Larry Nassar's abuse of dozens of athletes over the span of decades. USA Gymnastics underwent a thorough housecleaning, starting with its top executives and including national team coordinator Marta Karolyi.

Related video: 2020 Olympics -- opening ceremony

The USOPC also underwent massive change: The positions of board chair, CEO and sports performance director all changed hands. The federation has been overhauling everything from its mission statement to the way it allocates resources. The COVID-19 pandemic that postponed the Tokyo Games by a year only served to heighten the focus on athlete well-being. One key part of the USOPC overhaul included its increased emphasis on mental health counseling.

“We're deploying every resource that’s available to her, and we want to give her space to make choices that are going to be right for her,” Hirshland said of Biles. “We can't know the answer because none of us live in her shoes.”

On Wednesday afternoon in Tokyo, Biles withdrew from the women's all-around, giving up the chance to defend the coveted title. She has not decided if she will compete in the event finals scheduled later in the week.

Her decision to pull out of the team final almost certainly turned a gold medal into a silver for the U.S. team. What she does next will impact the U.S. medal haul. She had been expected to win as many four golds in the individual events.

None of that matters, Hirshland insists.

“These are not the USOPC's medals, these are the athletes' medals," she said. "We can't lose site of that. They make these choices. They do the work. They perform, and we are simply here to create an environment in which they can be successful.”

TOKYO —

For decades, they were told to shake it off or toughen up — to set aside the doubt, or the demons, and focus on the task at hand: winning. Dominating. Getting it done.

For years, Simone Biles was one of the very best at that. Suddenly — to some, shockingly — she decided she wasn't in the right headspace.

By pulling on her white sweatsuit in the middle of Tuesday night's Olympic gymnastics meet, and by doing it with a gold medal hanging in the balance, Biles might very well have redefined the mental health discussion that's been coursing through sports for the past year.

Michael Phelps, winner of a record 23 gold medals and now retired, has long been open about his own mental health struggles. Phelps has said he contemplated suicide after the 2012 Olympics while wracked with depression. Now an analyst for NBC's swimming coverage, he said watching Biles struggle "broke my heart."

"Mental health over the last 18 months is something people are talking about," Phelps said. "We're human beings. Nobody is perfect. So yes, it is OK not to be OK."

Biles joins some other high-profile athletes in the Olympic space — overwhelmingly females — who have been talking openly about a topic that had been taboo in sports for seemingly forever.

— Tennis player Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open, never went to Wimbledon and, after her early exit in Tokyo this week, conceded that the Olympic cauldron was a bit too much to handle.

— American sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson made no secret of the issues she faced as she prepared for an Olympic journey that never happened. She said she used marijuana to help mask the pain of her birth mother's death, to say nothing of the pressure of the 100 meters.

— Dutch cyclist Tom Dumoulin left training camp in January to clear his head, saying he was finding it "very difficult for me to know how to find my way as Tom Dumoulin the cyclist." He resumed training in May; on Wednesday, he won a silver medal in the men's individual time trials.

— Liz Cambage, a WNBA player who competes for Australia, pulled out of the Olympics a week before they opened because of anxiety over entering a controlled COVID bubble in Tokyo that would have kept her friends and family away.

"Relying on daily medication to control my anxiety is not the place I want to be right now. Especially walking into competition on the world's biggest sporting stage," she wrote on social media.

Biles, though, took things to a new level — one that now makes it thinkable to do what had been almost unthinkable only 24 hours before. She stepped back, assessed the situation and realized it would not be healthy to keep going.

On Wednesday, she pulled out of the all-around competition to focus on her mental well-being.

"I have to do what's right for me and focus on my mental health, and not jeopardize my health and well-being," a tearful Biles said after the Americans won the silver medal in team competition. She said she recognized she was not in the right headspace hours before the competition began.

"It was like fighting all those demons," she said.

The International Olympic Committee, aware of the struggles young athletes face, increased its mental health resources ahead of the Tokyo Games. Psychologists and psychiatrists are onsite in the Olympic village and established a "Mentally Fit Helpline" as a confidential health support service available before, during and for three months after the Games.

The 24-hour hotline is a free service that offers in more than 70 languages clinical support, structured short-term counseling, practical support and, if needed, guidance to the appropriate IOC reporting mechanisms in the case of harassment and/or abuse.

The IOC-developed Athlete365 website surveyed more than 4,000 athletes in early 2020, and the results led the IOC to shift its tone from sports performance and results to mental health and uplifting the athlete's voices.

Content was created for various social media platforms to feature current Olympians championing mental heath causes. And the Olympic State of Mind series on Olympics.com shares compilations of mental health stories and podcasts.

"Are we doing enough? I hope so. I think so," IOC spokesman Mark Adams said Wednesday. "But like everyone in the world, we are doing more on this issue."

Naoko Imoto, a swimmer at the 1996 Atlanta Games, is a consultant on gender equity for the Tokyo Olympic Committee. She said Osaka's admission in early June about mental-health struggles represented an opening for a discussion largely avoided.

"In Japan, we still don't talk about mental health," Imoto said. "I don't think there's enough of an understanding on mental health, but I think there are a lot of athletes coming out right now and saying it is common."

Australian swimmer Jack McLoughlin choked back tears after winning the silver medal in the 400-meter freestyle Sunday, describing how the pressures of training during a pandemic while also pursuing an engineering degree nearly caused him to quit the sport.

"That's all to my family and friends. They really helped me out, I was really struggling," McLoughlin said. "I train up to 10, 11 times a week, so to do that when you are not 100% sure you're actually going to get where you want to be is pretty hard."

Particularly with the world watching. John Speraw, coach of the U.S. men's volleyball team and the son of a psychologist, hired a specialist to assist his athletes when he coached at UC Irvine. He was an assistant on two Olympic teams before advancing to be the head coach for the Rio Games. There, he noticed his players were posting on Facebook — during the actual opening ceremony.

"To me, it was the most striking," he said. "I think we are very conscious of the increased scrutiny and external pressure and expectations that it places on our athletes."

Thriveworks, a counseling, psychology, and psychiatry services with more than 300 locations, found that one in three elite athletes suffer from anxiety and depression. In an analysis of more than 18,000 data points from print, online, broadcast and social media sources covering track and field, swimming, tennis, gymnastics and soccer, 69% of negative mentions were about female athletes compared to 31% about male athletes.

It showed that when the focus is on an individual athlete, coverage becomes less enthusiastic with a 29% negative tone that exemplifies the public pressure and criticism athletes face, said Kim Plourde, a licensed clinical social worker at Thriveworks who works with elite athletes through the Alliance of Social Workers in Sport.

"Female athletes have to manage a different level of expectations from themselves, coaches, other athletes, media, and fans ranging from their physical appearance to their performance," Plourde said.

Jenny Rissveds of Sweden was the youngest women's cross-country mountain biking champion when she won gold in Rio at 22. A year later, two deaths in her family triggered depression she still deals with. Rissveds failed to win a second consecutive gold, finishing 14th in Tokyo, but she was elated to be done with competition.

"I'm just so f—-ing happy that it's over," she said. "Not just the race. But all these years, to not have to carry that title any more. I have a name and I hope that I can be Jenny now and not the Olympic champion, because that is a heavy burden.

"I hope that I will be left alone now."

Swimming superstar Michael Phelps is showing his support for Simone Biles after the gold medal-winning gymnast decided to withdraw herself from the team and all-around competitions at the Tokyo Olympics to focus on her mental health.

If there’s anyone who could understand the pressure Biles felt as the star of the Summer Games, it’s the most decorated Olympian in history.

In an interview with NBC’s Mike Tirico, Phelps said it broke his heart when he learned Biles was struggling and pointed out the pandemic has put mental health more people’s minds.

“You know, we carry a lot of weight on our shoulders and it’s challenging, especially when we have the lights on us and all these expectations that are being thrown on top of us,” said Phelps. “It broke my heart. But also, if you look at it, mental health over the past 18 months is something that people are talking about.”

Phelps said "it’s OK to not be OK" because we’re all humans at the end of the day.

“I think the biggest thing is, we all need to ask for help sometimes too when we go through those times. For me, I can say personally, it was something that was very challenging. It was hard for me to ask for help. I felt like I was carrying, like Simone said, the weight of the world on your shoulders,” said Phelps. “So, it’s a tough situation.”

The 36-year-old said he hopes Biles’ story puts a spotlight on mental health issues, particularly among athletes.

“I hope this is an eye-opening experience. I really do. I hope this is an opportunity for us to jump on board and to even blow this mental health thing even more wide open. It is so much bigger than we can ever imagine.”

Phelps isn’t the only Olympian to speak out in support of Biles. Five-time Olympic medal gymnast Nastia Liukin did as well and she helped explain what happened to Biles on the vault before she dropped out of the team finals on Tuesday.

“In talking to her, she did the right thing,” said Liukin. “You know, she really wanted to focus on the team, and I think when you actually take a look at what happened on that vault, she got lost and any gymnast knows – we call it the twisties – and she basically was supposed to do a whole other rotation and got completely lost in the air. It’s a mental kind of error, essentially, that every single gymnast goes through.”

She said getting lost in the air does happen often with gymnasts.

“The level of difficulty that she competes at is so high and if you are not 100% sure of yourself and where you are in the air, it can be very dangerous.”

As for what’s next for Biles, USA Gymnastics says the 24-year-old athlete will be evaluated daily to determine whether or not she will participate in next week’s individual event finals.

Gymnast Jade Carey, who had the ninth-highest score in qualifications, will participate in her place in the all-around competition on Thursday.

The greatest gymnast of all time must rally Team USA for the Americans to win their third consecutive gold medal.

Simone Biles and her squad trail the team representing the Russian Olympic Committee heading into Tuesday's women's gymnastics team final.

Katie Ledecky and Caeleb Dressel return to the pool and the U.S. women’s soccer team plays its final match in group stage play in Day 4 of coverage of the Tokyo Olympics.

Here are some things to look out for. (all times Eastern):

Gymnastics

Simone Biles had a rare off day — off for her — in qualifications and the Americans head into the women's final trailing the team representing the Russian Olympic Committee.

The U.S. has three gymnasts making their Olympic debuts in Suni Lee, Grace McCallum and Jordan Chiles, and the trio all had significant form breaks as the Americans fell behind. But so did Biles, who despite putting up the top score was not at her best.

Biles bounded off the mat at the end of a tumbling pass on floor and her block on her Cheng vault was crooked.

Each member of the four-person team competed in each event during qualifications with the lowest score dropped.

For the finals, the competition moves to three-up/three-count and the Americans have thrived in that format for more than a decade. Biles is scheduled to compete in all five events with coverage live at 6:45 a.m. Tuesday.

Swimming

Katie Ledecky is seeking a second straight gold medal in the women's 200-meter freestyle and then later that evening will attempt to win the Olympic debut of the women's 1,500-meter freestyle.

Caeleb Dressel, who already has one gold medal in these Games, is expected to compete alongside Rio Olympic gold medalist Townley Haas and first-time Olympian Kieran Smith in the men's 4x200 meter freestyle relay.

Zach Harting and Gunnar Bentz are both expected to contend for Team USA in the men's 200-meter butterfly. Five races are up for medals with the first final set to begin at 9:40 p.m.

Women's Soccer

The U.S. women's soccer team can advance to the quarterfinals with either a win or a draw over Australia.

The Americans lost their opening game to Sweden but bounced back for a 6-1 victory over New Zealand. The game is the final match in group stage play at 4 a.m.

Softball

The U.S. women's softball team will play Japan for the gold medal in a rematch of the 2008 final, the previous time softball was an Olympic sport.

Japan won that game 3-1.

Monica Abbott pitched a perfect seventh in relief to advance the Americans into the gold medal game and earned her third win of the tournament. Abbott is likely to start against Japan, a game played the day before her 36th birthday. The game will be live at 7 a.m.

Men's Basketball

The much-maligned U.S. men's basketball team seeks its first win of the Olympics when it plays Iran in Group A play at 12:40 a.m.

The U.S. men have only two games left in group play at the Tokyo Olympics to solve its woes. An opening 83-76 loss to France snapped a 25-game Olympic winning streak.

The Americans lost for only the sixth time in 144 games at the Olympics all-time, and fell to 53-4 in the Olympics with NBA players on the roster. The 2004 team at the Athens Games lost the other three, and won bronze.

Women's Basketball

The U.S. women have fallen to Japan 20-18 in their final pool-play game in 3-on-3 basketball.

Despite the loss, the Americans will head into the knockout round as the top seed after compiling a 6-1 record over four days. The semifinals and medal games for the sport’s Olympic debut are set for Wednesday.

With the score of Tuesday’s game tied at 17, Japan’s Mio Shinozaki made a 2-pointer to give her team the lead for good.

Serbia’s men were 6-0 coming into Tuesday and have locked up a spot in the semifinals.

The U.S. men did not qualify for the tournament.

Typhoon Watch

There's a full slate of competition scheduled Tuesday but a typhoon is scheduled to hit the Tokyo area and could disrupt much of the action.

Archery, rowing and sailing have already had schedule revisions, and all tennis not played on center court could potentially be washed out. Center court has a retractable roof.

The third round of men's singles, the quarterfinals for women's singles and doubles, semifinals of men's doubles and first round of mixed doubles are all scheduled to begin at 10 p.m. on The Olympic Channel.

For the late crowd

The U.S. women's water polo team continues its quest for a third consecutive gold medal in a match against Hungary, while the women's cycling team trials both air at 12:35 a.m. Tuesday.

TOKYO —

Reigning Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles is out of the team finals after apparently sustaining an injury during the vault.

The 24-year-old U.S. star, considered to be the greatest gymnast of all time, huddled with a trainer after landing her vault. She then exited the competition floor with the team doctor.

Biles returned several minutes later. She took off her bar grips, hugged teammates Grace McCallum, Sunisa Lee and Jordan Chiles before putting on a jacket and sweatpants.

"Simone has withdrawn from the team final competition due to a medical issue," USA Gymnastics said in a statement. "She will be assessed daily to determine medical clearance for future competitions."

The Americans will be forced to finish the rest of the competition without her, severely hampering their bid to claim a third straight Olympic title.

The U.S. began finals on vault, with Biles going last. She was supposed to do an “Amanar,” a vault that begins with a roundoff back handspring onto the table followed by 2 1/2 twists. She seemed to change her mind in mid-air, doing just 1 1/2 twist instead.

She walked off the podium and was tended to by team doctor Marcia Faustin before making her way out of the arena.

Biles arrived in Tokyo as the unquestioned star of the Games but struggled, at least by her high standards, during qualifying. In a social media post on Monday, she admitted she felt like the weight of the world was on her shoulders and that the Olympics “were no joke.”

Biles won five medals in Rio de Janeiro five years ago and had a chance to actually top that after advancing to all five finals. It remains to be seen whether she will be available for the all-around final on Thursday night and the event finals later in the Games.

After two rotations, the United States trails ROC 2.5 points.

CINCINNATI —

Greater Cincinnati gymnasts are stunned after learning Simone Biles pulled out of the team competition.

But, they are still waiting to see what's next for "The GOAT."

Just like the rest of world, gymnast Kylie Himmler was shocked to hear Olympic great Simone Biles pulled out of the team competition Tuesday in Tokyo.

“I can’t even imagine the pressure that she has on herself," Himmler said.

Himmler knows about pressure.

The 15-year-old has spent eight years perfecting her craft at The Gymnastics Center in Green Township.

She can see herself on an Olympic stage one day.

“That’s like the big, big goal," Himmler said. "But, there’s a lot of little ones. That’s what’s nice about gymnastics is there’s so many little goals. Like, getting new skills and doing it at a meet. So, I feel like there’s little accomplishments and you can find the positive in anything in gymnastics.”

Regardless, Himmler said she has nothing but respect for Biles.

“She is doing skills no one else will ever do," Himmler said. "No one ever in the world.”

Biles taking a step back shows gymnasts like Himmler, sometimes it's needed in order to push forward.

“It was really sad but at the same time, I’m really glad to see someone as great as Simone has challenges and struggles just like me. It makes me feel better about how I do my gymnastics," Himmler said.

The Gymnastics Center owner Michelle Booth said the pressure is unbelievable.

“It’s an incredible amount of pressure, but I do think it shows that she’s human," Booth said. "I think in that aspect it’s great for all of the gymnasts to realize that no one is perfect at all times."

Booth said mental strength is crucial when it comes to gymnastics.

Her gymnasts go through mental training to help keep them in a positive place.

Himmler said gold medal or not, Biles will always be "The GOAT."

Related video: U.S. gymnastics team boarded a flight to Tokyo

The team’s outfits looked similar to the others in the room as the arena lights gleamed off crystals crisscrossing their chests and down their crimson and white sleeves.

But the German gymnastics team’s new Olympic suits didn’t stop at their hips.

For decades, female gymnasts have worn bikini-cut leotards. In qualifying on Sunday, however, the German team instead wore unitards that stretched to their ankles, intending to push back against sexualization of women in gymnastics.

The Tokyo Olympics are the first Summer Games since Larry Nassar, a former USA Gymnastics national team doctor, was sent to prison for 176 years for sexually abusing hundreds of gymnasts, including some of the sport's greatest stars. At his sentencing, athletes — some of them Olympians — described how the sport’s culture allowed for abuse and objectification of young women and girls.

Male gymnasts wear comparatively body-covering clothes: singlets, with loose shorts for their floor exercise and vault, and long pants on bar and pommel horse routines.

The German team first wore unitards at the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in April.

Sarah Voss, a 21-year-old German, said they weren't sure they would decide to wear them again during Olympic competition until they got together before the meet.

“We sat together today and said, OK, we want to have a big competition," Voss said. “We want to feel amazing, we want to show everyone that we look amazing."

Their wardrobe revolution, while widely championed, has not so far started a trend. Leotards that leave the legs bare were worn by every other female gymnast during qualifying at the Tokyo Games.

At 4-foot-8, American superstar Simone Biles said in June that she prefers leotards because they lengthen the leg and make her appear taller.

“But I stand with their decision to wear whatever they please and whatever makes them feel comfortable,” Biles said. “So if anyone out there wants to wear a unitard or leotard, it’s totally up to you.”

Matt Cowan, the chief commercial officer for GK Elite, the U.S.’ premier leotard manufacturer, said most requests for unitards now come from countries the require modesty for cultural and religious reasons. They have otherwise seen no rush toward catsuits.

“Would we do it? Absolutely. We have the capabilities of designing it and doing it, and we have done it," Cowan said. "But from a consumer demand perspective, we are not there yet.”

Gymnastics is often viewed as a sport best performed by very young women and girls. Biles, at 24, often jokes about being old; she recently called herself a grandma on social media.

But other nations have defied that emphasis on youth, including the Germans: Elisabeth Seitz is 27, Kim Bui is 32, Pauline Schafer is 24, and Voss is 21. Their average age of 26. Voss said that gymnastics customs should leave room for female bodies as they age and change.

Their outfits comply with the wardrobe rules of the International Gymnastics Federation. But that doesn’t mean female athletes are generally free to cover their bodies as they choose.

Just days before the Games began, the Norwegian women’s beach handball team refused to play in bikini bottoms during European tournaments, opting instead for skin-tight shorts. For that, they received a fine for violating a wardrobe requirement.

But at gymnastics qualifying Sunday, the announcer over the loudspeaker called the outfits “very nice indeed." The German team did not qualify for finals, but the announcer pondered if their team debut on the Olympic stage might increase unitards' popularity.

TOKYO —

The trouble started early. A step out of bounds on floor exercise here. A short landing there.

Over the course of two hours on Sunday, the mistakes — some almost imperceptible, some laid bare for the world to see — kept piling up, chipping away at the aura USA Gymnastics has built over the past decade. Not even the greatest of all time was immune to the realities of a sport where perfection is unattainable.

For 11 years, the Americans flirted with it, at least from a competitive standpoint, flying all over the globe, then flying back home with their suitcases stuffed with gold.

It still might happen at the Tokyo Olympics. But for the first time in a long time, it appears it won't happen without a fight.

Russia pulled off a stunner in qualifying, posting a top score of 171.629, more than a full point ahead of the U.S. total 170.562. While reigning Olympic champion Simone Biles topped the all-around with teammate Sunisa Lee close behind in third, the Americans ended their session looking up at another name on the scoreboard in the team standings for the first time since the 2010 world championships.

“This was not the finals,” U.S. high-performance director Tom Forster said. “This was getting into the finals. So this might be a great awakening for us and we’ll take advantage of it.”

China, France, Belgium, Great Britain, Italy and host Japan also advanced to Tuesday night's final. Olympic legend Oksana Chusovitina's journey is over. The 46-year-old from Uzbekistan did not qualify during the vault final at her record eighth Olympics.

Athletes, judges and administrators rose to their feet to salute Chusovitina as she made her way off the floor. She waved to the crowd with tears in her eyes before posing for pictures with whoever wanted one.

“I’m saying goodbye to sports,” Chusovitina said. “It’s kind of mixed feelings. I’m alive, I’m happy, I’m here without any injuries, and I can stand on my own.”

Something the Americans have done in the team competition for 10 years. After going largely unchallenged over two Olympic quads, they suddenly have company.

Forster raised eyebrows following the Olympic Trials last month when he said taking the top four finishers in the all-around in rank over a squad that could potentially score a bit higher by taking a specialist didn't matter. He reasoned sacrificing a tenth or two here or there wasn't going to matter based on the history of blowout wins by the Americans at world championships since he took over in 2018.

“We thought it was a good order, and I still feel good about it,” Forster said, who later added, “it will all work out.”

It always has since Biles joined an already dominant program in 2013. Everything will be reset for the finals, when the format changes to three-up/three-count. The pressure will be greater. And the Americans have found a way to thrive under it.

Inside a largely empty Ariake Gymnastics Center, they finally faltered. At least by their towering standards.

Not even Biles was immune.

While the 24-year-old star topped the all-around with a total of 57.731 and advanced to the finals in three events, it didn't come easy. She backpedaled all the way off the mat following a tumbling pass on her floor exercise, then basically did the same on vault. She responded with a solid set on uneven bars, but a spectacular beam routine ended with her temporarily reeling following her dismount, something Forster said he's never seen her do.

Biles, who came to Japan as the face of the U.S. Olympic movement and possibly the Games themselves, saluted the judges then walked off the podium with a smile that looked like a combination of relief, sarcasm and frustration.

There was plenty to go around.

Jordan Chiles' relentlessly consistent run that carried her to a spot on the team ended with a major mistake on bars and a fall on beam. Grace McCallum stepped out of bounds on floor. Lee had two of her scores (vault and floor) dropped in the team competition, though her electric bar set helped her surge into third behind Biles and Brazil's Rebeca Andrade.

The biggest bright spot for the Americans may have been the spectacular performance by Jade Carey. Competing as an individual after earning a nominative berth through the World Cup circuit, Carey earned a spot in the vault and floor exercise finals and only missed out on the all-around due to the rules that limit finals to two athletes per country.

Carey's decision to pursue an individual berth is symbolic of the depth the Americans have enjoyed during their rise to supremacy. Yet they no longer appear to have the market cornered on excellence.

ROC's performance's offered proof that the former gymnastics superpower is in the midst of a resurgence led by 21-year-old Angelina Melnikova. Even better, the Russians survived the balance beam relatively unscathed.

The 4-inch piece of wood set 4 feet off the ground has been the place where the country's gold-medal hopes have gone to die in recent years, yet there were no major issues during qualifying. The only serious miscue came when Lilia Akhaimova fell off during the end of an acrobatic series. No biggie. The Russians were allowed to drop her score.

Things will be different in the finals, when the margin for error disappears. While Melnikova stressed she didn't want to forecast what might with a medal on the line, she believes what has long been a walkover for the Americans will turn into something far more compelling.

“We hope that (we win),” Melnikova said. "We’re also going to struggle and fight. We have to. That’s the expectation for us.”

And suddenly, it looks doable.

Video above from 2019: Simone Biles remarks on brother's caseAfter a mistrial was declared last month in the murder trial of Tevin Biles-Thomas, the brother of Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles, a judge in Ohio acquitted Biles-Thomas of the charges against him in a retrial on Tuesday, court records show.Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Joan Synenberg granted a Rule 29 motion for judgment of acquittal by the defense for lack of evidence, dismissing Biles-Thomas' murder charges and acquitting him of voluntary manslaughter and felonious assault charges, court spokesperson Darren Toms said.Biles-Thomas was arrested in 2019 on charges of murder, voluntary manslaughter, felonious assault and perjury in connection with a New Year's Eve fatal shooting in Cleveland.On the night of the shooting, a group of uninvited guests walked into a home and a fight began, Ohio authorities previously said. That fight led to the shooting and multiple people were hit — two of whom died at the scene and a third who later died at a hospital.Cleveland police had identified Biles-Thomas as the shooter. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.Following the judge's ruling, a person in the gallery charged towards Biles-Thomas but was stopped by sheriff's deputies, Toms said, adding that "the Court thanks the Sheriff's Department for their assistance.""This was a horrible tragedy, three families lost three family members and you know, absolutely horrific. So, we understand emotions were running high," Biles-Thomas attorney, Joe Patituce, said."But today, Tevin Biles was vindicated, what he's waited to get for the last two and half years."Patituce added that Biles-Thomas has maintained his innocence for the last two and a half years "because he is frankly innocent of these charges and today we were able to see that the state had absolutely no evidence that he was guilty of this offense."

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Yes, in yours these days. Mhm, Mentally it was hard because we came straight off of 2019 world, I was in such great shape. The transition from 2019 to 2020 was so easy and I had never been so ready to compete in the beginning of a year ever. Um and so I was just super super bummed out about it whenever I heard that I was postponed and then the uncertainty of how long it was gonna be postponed and I was just kind of angry, I was mad, I was annoyed, I was upset because I felt like I had just been so prepared never in my life have I been that prepared? So, I felt like just, it sucked for me personally, obviously I wasn't the only athlete going through it and I know some athletes weren't as prepared, so it's like, ok, we get more time, but for me it's like, no, I was finally ready finally on top of my game, she's very close to her for potentially because competition especially because skills wise she could do, she could try a couple more tricks, but then how many times can you do it on a hard surface? How competing with pressure? Many weeks in a row? Health, you know, being healthy, it's just, I think she's near what she can do. Mhm. To me, whenever I go out there, I just try to do my gymnastics and what I trained to do. So even if I do step out of bounds, I know like for other people it's like, oh, you're still gonna win. But for me, it's like, yes, but I've trained, it's so hard to not step out of bounds. So I just know what I want to accomplish. Have certain meats. So if you see me like get upset if I fall here, even though I'm still gonna win or I still may win, it's just like I know I can do better. So I have set expectations for myself, For her, it's what she wants. She has high standards for herself. She doesn't need the pressure for anyone else. She wants to be the best she can be. And I think she's her hardest critic is herself.

Simone Biles headlining 35-city gymnastics tour with stop in Kentucky this fall

Updated: 8:37 PM EDT May 27, 2021

Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast of all time, is making her way to the Derby City this fall for an event billed as a "high-energy, gymnastics-meets-pop-concert spectacular."The Gold Over America Tour is making its way to the KFC Yum! Center on Oct. 23. In addition to Biles, the event will feature an all-star team of gymnastics champions all focused on spreading messages of empowerment and togetherness.Louisville is one of the stops on the 35-city tour that kicks off Sept. 21 in Tucson, Arizona. Other cities include Denver, Los Angeles, Houston and Atlanta."I love the sport of gymnastics and want to help create a show that captures the pure joy of performing," Biles said. "Athleta Presents Gold Over America Tour will match athleticism and entertainment, all while celebrating the gold inside each of us!"The tour is presented by Athleta, a women's performance lifestyle brand.Biles will be joined by athletes Laurie Hernandez, Katelyn Ohashi, Morgan Hurd and Jordan Chiles, among others. Organizers plan to announce additional gymnasts in the coming months.Each gymnast will perform segments from their most famous routines mixed with career highlight and personal videos, social media interactions, spoken word and a crew of gymnastic dancers under LED video screens and lights.Tickets for the tour go on sale June 11 and can be purchased at the KFC Yum! Center or online at Ticketmaster.com.Click here for more information about the event.

Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast of all time, is making her way to the Derby City this fall for an event billed as a "high-energy, gymnastics-meets-pop-concert spectacular."

The Gold Over America Tour is making its way to the KFC Yum! Center on Oct. 23. In addition to Biles, the event will feature an all-star team of gymnastics champions all focused on spreading messages of empowerment and togetherness.

Louisville is one of the stops on the 35-city tour that kicks off Sept. 21 in Tucson, Arizona. Other cities include Denver, Los Angeles, Houston and Atlanta.

"I love the sport of gymnastics and want to help create a show that captures the pure joy of performing," Biles said. "Athleta Presents Gold Over America Tour will match athleticism and entertainment, all while celebrating the gold inside each of us!"

The tour is presented by Athleta, a women's performance lifestyle brand.

Biles will be joined by athletes Laurie Hernandez, Katelyn Ohashi, Morgan Hurd and Jordan Chiles, among others. Organizers plan to announce additional gymnasts in the coming months.

Each gymnast will perform segments from their most famous routines mixed with career highlight and personal videos, social media interactions, spoken word and a crew of gymnastic dancers under LED video screens and lights.

Tickets for the tour go on sale June 11 and can be purchased at the KFC Yum! Center or online at Ticketmaster.com.

Click here for more information about the event.