(TOKYO) — With Simone Biles withdrawing from the individual all-around, American gymnasts Sunisa Lee and Jade Carey will be picking up the mantle Thursday in an event the U.S. has won at four straight Olympics.
An event initially thought to be a showcase for the all-time great, the all-around field has been blown wide open with Biles’ withdrawal.
Each nation is only allowed up to two athletes to compete in the individual gymnastics event. After the qualifying event this past weekend, Biles, who came in first, and Lee were set to be the Americans in the final. Biles’ withdrawal opened up a spot for Carey.
Carey came in ninth in the qualifier overall — rankings that included Biles and a third Russian Olympic Committee gymnast ahead of her.
Lee, meanwhile, came in third behind Biles and Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade. The difference between Lee’s and Andrade’s scores was 0.23 points; the difference between Carey’s and Andrade’s scores was 1.13.
The Minnesota-based Lee, 18, is a phenom on uneven bars, while Carey is strong on vault. In the qualifier, they both scored over 15 points on those respective apparatuses, accounting for two of the five above-15 scores on any apparatus from any athlete in that event.
After the individual all-around, Lee has qualified to compete in the uneven bars and balance beams event finals, and Carey has qualified for the vault and floor event finals.
Americans have won gold in the women’s gymnastics all-around for the last four Olympic Games, starting with Carly Patterson in 2004, Nastia Liukin in 2008, Gabby Douglas in 2012 and Biles in 2016.
Lee is going into the all-arounds with a medal already in her pocket, having been part of the U.S. team that won silver Tuesday. Carey qualified for the Olympics as an individual, not part of the team competition.
Biles had a misstep on vault at the start of the team competition and withdrew from the rest of competition. USA Gymnastics announced her withdrawal from the all-around event on Wednesday.
“After further medical evaluation, Simone Biles has withdrawn from the final individual all-around competition at the Tokyo Olympic Games, in order to focus on her mental health,” USAG said in a statement.
The organization added that Biles “will continue to be evaluated daily to determine whether or not to participate in next week’s individual event finals.”
(GREEN BAY, Wisc.) — Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers considered retiring amid a tumultuous offseason, he told reporters gathered at the team’s training camp Wednesday.
In his second day back with the team, Rodgers admitted he’s still not sure what, if anything, will change about the organization with whom his relationship had grown challenging.
Still, Rodgers is beginning preparations for his 17th NFL season, all of which have come with the Packers.
“I just want to be involved in conversations that affect my ability to do my job,” Rodgers explained. That, before detailing some of the examples of veteran players the team has released or failed to re-sign at different points in his career.
Asked whether he has any assurance his guidance will be followed more closely now, Rodgers admitted he couldn’t be certain.
“I wanted to help to organization, maybe learn from some of the mistakes in the past,” he said.
Rodgers said he voiced that desire in February, even offering to help recruit players to Green Bay. That conversation, he said, changed in March, after the team declined to commit to him as their quarterback beyond the 2021 season. In response, Rodgers says, he told the team “if you want to make a change and move forward, then go ahead and do it.”
And then, in April, when ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke news that Rodgers had told some people within the organization that he did not want to return, negotiations began. He says the team initially offered more money, which was not what he was looking for.
Earlier this week, the two sides agreed to void the final year of Rodgers’ current contract, and discuss his future with the team after 2021.
The tension between player and organization increased last year, when the Packers selected quarterback Jordan Love with their first-round draft pick.
Still, Rodgers was quick to point out that he is “not a victim here.”
“I made a ton of money here, and I’ve been really fortunate to play a long time and to play here.”
“At the same time,” he said, “I’m still competitive and I still feel like I can play, I proved it last year.”
Rodgers won the third NFL MVP Award of his career in 2020.
While he didn’t rule out a return to the Packers, he also said he was not promised the ability to dictate where he would play in 2022.
Simone Biles is considered one of the greatest female gymnasts of all-time, an athlete who competes on a different level, with four signature moves named after her in three different events.
The level of difficulty undertaken by the six-time Olympic medalist is one reason her decision to withdraw from both the team and individual competitions at the Tokyo Olympics is being applauded by gymnastics experts.
“Gymnastics is a sport where if you make a mistake you can get severely, severely injured,” said Valorie Kondos Field, former longtime head coach of the UCLA Women’s Gymnastics team. “The worst possible injury you can think of happening can happen in this sport if you lose your focus.”
During Tuesday’s team competition final, Biles, 24, had planned to do a vault with two-and-a-half twists. Instead, mid-air, Biles lost her way and completed only one-and-a-half twists and stumbled on her landing.
Shortly after that vault, USA Gymnastics announced Biles’ early exit from the team competition.
“I had no idea where I was in the air,” Biles said in a press conference Tuesday. “I could have hurt myself.”
Further explaining her decision, Biles added, “I just felt like it would be a little bit better to take a back seat, work on my mindfulness. I didn’t want to risk the team a medal for, kind of, my screw ups, because they’ve worked way too hard for that.”
Team USA went on to win a silver medal in the team competition, losing the gold medal to gymnasts from Russia.
On Wednesday, it was announced by USA Gymnastics that Biles would also sit out the individual competition to “focus on her mental health.”
“Simone will continue to be evaluated daily to determine whether or not to participate in next week’s individual event finals,” the sport’s national governing body said in a statement. “We wholeheartedly support Simone’s decision and applaud her bravery in prioritizing her well-being. Her courage shows, yet again, why she is a role model for so many.”
Biles had qualified in all six of the women’s gymnastics finals at the Tokyo Olympics — team, individual all-around, vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor. She was on track to win an unprecedented six gold medals during the Games, with the aim of becoming the first woman since 1968 to win back-to-back titles in the all-around — a competition that tests individual gymnasts on each of the four apparatuses.
Dominique Dawes, a four-time Olympic medalist who competed at the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games, applauded Biles’ decision to put herself first instead of succumbing to pressure and risking physical injury.
“[She] really got lost in the air and if that does happen there is a mental block there and the concern is not only for your mental health but physical health,” said Dawes. “And she knew if she was not going to be on her ‘A’ game, Team USA would not be on top of the podium or maybe even get on the podium.”
“What I respect most about her is she’s listening to her inner voice and she made a decision that was best for her,” she said, adding of her own experience: “During the 2000 Olympic trials I actually quit after [preliminaries]. It was too much on me emotionally; however, I was not able to make that decision. It was very much a controlled atmosphere.”
Biles’ skill level is so great that the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) gave the double-double dismount on the balance beam, a signature move by Biles, a lower value because it was considered essentially a safety risk for other gymnasts to try.
“There is added risk in landing of double saltos for Beam dismounts (with/without twists), including a potential landing on the neck. Reinforcing, there are many examples in the Code where decisions have been made to protect the gymnasts and preserve the direction of the discipline,” the federation said in a 2019 statement. “The WTC’s task is to ensure the safety of all athletes around the world and decisions are not based purely on one gymnast.”
Another skill achieved by Biles, the Yurchenko double pike on vault, is considered so dangerous that Biles’ coach said the gymnast would have to “beg” her to execute it at the Olympics.
In May, at the 2021 U.S. Classic, Biles became the first woman to ever perform the skill in competition.
“If she really wants to do it, she’s going to have to beg me,” Laurent Landi told “On Her Turf” earlier this month. “People seem to forget that it’s a very, very dangerous skill … just to have glory and being [in] the Code of Points, it’s not enough.”
Jacoby Miles, a Washington woman who says she was paralyzed from the chest down due to a gymnastics accident at age 15, took to Instagram to applaud Biles for prioritizing her mental health.
“I experienced those mental blocks throughout my career as a gymnast, and to be quite blunt, it only took one bad time of getting lost in the air in a big flip to break my neck and leave me paralyzed,” Miles wrote. “So I’m so, so glad she decided to not continue until she’s mentally recovered. Especially at her skill difficulty.”
Jade Carey, a 21-year-old gymnast from Arizona who had the ninth-highest score in qualifications, will compete in Biles’ place in the all-around on Thursday, according to USA Gymnastics.
Biles still has the option to compete later this week in the individual finals for vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor.
ABC News’ Rachel Katz, Morgan Winsor and Alexandra Svokos contributed to this report.
(BALTIMORE) — Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has tested positive for COVID-19, the team announced Wednesday, keeping him off the field for the team’s first training camp workout.
Head coach John Harbaugh says the test came back on Tuesday, and that Jackson had repeatedly tested negative in the preceding days. The NFL was working to process and evaluate the results as of Wednesday morning.
Jackson is the second Ravens player to test positive this week, after running back Gus Edwards. In Jackson’s absence, Trace McSorley and Tyler Huntley took most of the practice snaps on Day One.
The 2019 NFL MVP tested positive for COVID-19 last Thanksgiving, missing a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers because of the virus. He was activated from the COVID-19 reserve list less than two weeks later.
Jackson was one of 20 Ravens to spend time on the COVID-19 reserve list last season, including an outbreak in November and December where at least one player tested positive for ten consecutive days.
(TOKYO) — Each day, ABC News will give you a roundup of key Olympic moments from the day’s events in Tokyo, happening 13 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Standard Time. After a 12-month delay, the unprecedented 2020 Summer Olympics is taking place without fans or spectators and under a state of emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Simone Biles withdraws from individual all-around
American gymnastics superstar Simone Biles has decided not to compete in Thursday’s final individual all-around competition at the Tokyo Olympics so that she can “focus on her mental health,” USA Gymnastics said in a statement Wednesday.
“Simone will continue to be evaluated daily to determine whether or not to participate in next week’s individual event finals,” the sport’s national governing body added. “We wholeheartedly support Simone’s decision and applaud her bravery in prioritizing her well-being. Her courage shows, yet again, why she is a role model for so many.”
Jade Carey, who had the ninth-highest score in qualifications, will compete in Biles’ place in the all-around, according to USA Gymnastics. The decision follows Biles’ early exit from the team final on Tuesday.
Katie Ledecky takes gold in first-ever women’s 1500 freestyle
Only an hour after she failed to place in the 200-meter freestyle, Team USA’s swimming star Katie Ledecky was back in the pool racing for gold and Olympic history.
Ledecky easily beat her competition, winning by more than four seconds in the 30 lap-race and becoming the first woman to win a gold medal in a 1,500-meter freestyle. Her teammate Erica Sullivan won silver.
Athletes grapple with heat and humidity as Tropical Storm Nepartak makes landfall
The suffocating heat wave in Tokyo was so unbearable during the men’s tennis singles final that Russian player Daniil Medvedev reportedly told the umpire: “I can finish the match, but I can die … If I die, are you going to be responsible?”
Temperatures in the Olympic host city were at around 88 degrees Fahrenheit, but the humidity from recent rain showers moved the heat index up to 99.
Tropical Storm Nepartak ultimately spared the Games and made landfall on Wednesday morning in Japan’s Miyagi prefecture, some 250 miles north of Tokyo.
COVID-19 cases at Tokyo Olympics rise to 174
There were 14 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 among people at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday, including contractors, media members and Games-concerned personnel. The total now stands at 174, according to data released by the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee.
The surrounding city of Tokyo reported 3,177 new cases on Wednesday, a 7-day average increase of 153%, according to data released by the Tokyo metropolitan government.
After losing their first game since 2004 on Sunday to France, the U.S. men’s basketball team easily beat Iran 120-66. Players Damian Lillard and Devin Booker helped lead Team USA to victory with 21 and 16 points, respectively.
Team USA has one more game in the group round on Saturday against Czech Republic.
Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic defeated Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3, 6-1 in the third round match of the men’s singles.
Djokovic is now three games away from achieving a Golden Slam, which is when a tennis player wins all four Grand Slam tournaments as well as a gold medal at the Summer Olympics in a single calendar year. Steffi Graf of Germany is the only player to accomplish such a feat.
(TOKYO) — Following “further medical evaluation,” American gymnastics superstar Simone Biles has withdrawn from Thursday’s final individual all-around competition at the Tokyo Olympics “to focus on her mental health,” USA Gymnastics announced.
“Simone will continue to be evaluated daily to determine whether or not to participate in next week’s individual event finals,” the sport’s national governing body said in a statement Wednesday. “We wholeheartedly support Simone’s decision and applaud her bravery in prioritizing her well-being. Her courage shows, yet again, why she is a role model for so many.”
Jade Carey, who had the ninth-highest score in qualifications, will compete in Biles’ place in the all-around on Thursday, according to USA Gymnastics.
Biles, considered the greatest gymnast in history, had qualified in all six of the women’s gymnastics finals at the Tokyo Olympics — team, individual all-around, vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor. The 24-year-old was on track to win an unprecedented six gold medals during the Games, with the aim of becoming the first woman since 1968 to win back-to-back titles in the all-around — a competition that tests individual gymnasts on each of the four apparatuses.
The decision came on the heels of Biles’ early exit from the team final on Tuesday, after a rare stumble on her first vault. All eyes were on the reigning Olympic all-around gymnastics champion to see if she would attempt a Yurchenko double pike on vault. Instead, she bailed in the middle of her planned Amanar — a Yurchenko with 2.5 twists — and only completed a 1.5 twist, bringing down the difficulty level of her vault. She scored a 13.766, which was uncharacteristically low for her.
Afterwards, Biles spoke with her coach and a trainer before walking off the competition floor, leaving teammates Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles and Grace McCallum to finish the event. Team USA ultimately placed in second, winning a silver medal, while Russia’s team took the gold.
The United States has medaled in every women’s gymnastics team event at the Olympics since 1992.
USA Gymnastics said in a statement Tuesday that Biles withdrew “due to a medical issue.” The Ohio native, who has previously said she feels “the weight of the world on my shoulders at times,” later told reporters that she was not injured but wasn’t in the right headspace to continue.
“No injuries, thankfully, and that’s why I took a step back because I didn’t want to do something silly out there and get injured,” Biles said during a press conference following the competition Tuesday. “So I thought it was best if these girls took over and did the rest of the job, which they absolutely did.”
“Today has been really stressful,” she added.
USA Gymnastics confirmed to ABC News on Wednesday that if Biles pulls out of the remaining events, teammate MyKayla Skinner would replace her in the vault final but no other gymnast from Team USA could step in for the floor, beam or bars competitions. Only two qualifying gymnasts from each country may participate in each event final.
The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo are taking place under a regional state of emergency and stringent restrictions due to rising cases of COVID-19. The Games were supposed to be held last summer but were postponed because of the pandemic. All spectators — domestic and foreign — have been banned from Olympic venues in Tokyo during the Games, in an effort to reduce the risk of infection. Meanwhile, athletes and all those in close proximity have to undergo daily testing for the virus.
Biles told reporters Tuesday that “it’s been a long year” and the Games “as a whole” have been “really stressful.”
“I think we’re just a little bit too stressed out,” she said. “But we should be out here having fun, and sometimes that’s not the case.”
(TOKYO) — Gymnasts have been showering support for the U.S. women’s gymnastics team after winning the silver medal in Tokyo — and particularly for Simone Biles and her decision to withdraw from the competition.
Biles competed on the opening rotation of vault Tuesday in the team competition but decided not to compete on any further apparatus.
She had been under an immense amount of pressure going into these Olympic Games, saying earlier this week she felt “the weight of the world on my shoulders at times.”
“No injuries, thankfully, and that’s why I took a step back because I didn’t want to do something silly out there and get injured,” Biles said in a press conference following the team competition. “So I thought it was best if these girls took over and did the rest of the job, which they absolutely did.”
The team — consisting of Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles and Grace McCallum, in addition to Biles — went on to win silver, keeping up the American streak of team medals they’ve held since 1992.
And many gymnasts have spoken up to cheer on the team and voice their support for Biles’ decision, one that put a spotlight on mental health and, perhaps, showed a changing culture for the harsh world of gymnastics, which has faced a reckoning since the Larry Nassar abuse trial.
Biles posted on Instagram she was “SO proud” of her teammates as “they stepped up when I couldn’t.”
“You girls are incredibly brave & talented! I’ll forever be inspired by your determination to not give up and to fight through adversity!” she wrote.
“You will forever be loved,” Chiles commented in return, adding that Biles was a “huge inspiration on all of us” and that they “wouldn’t have done it without you.”
Morgan Hurd, a favorite to make the U.S. team before an injury, wrote on Instagram, “Words cannot describe how proud I am. This team went out there with resilience, grit, and grace. Only they know how hard this sport is not only physically but mentally, let alone on the Olympic stage. Love you guys endlessly.”
Danell Leyva, an Olympic medalist on the men’s side, tweeted, “If anyone says a silver medal at the Olympics isn’t enough, come step outside I just wanna talk.”
Before competition started, Biles’ former teammate Aly Raisman had tweeted, “Just a friendly reminder: Olympic athletes are human & they’re doing the best they can. It’s REALLY hard to peak at the right moment & do the routine of your life under such pressure. Really hard.”
“Wish I could give you the biggest hug,” Raisman posted on Instagram after the final. “Sending you all the love & support.”
Rachael Denhollander, a former gymnast and the first woman to publicly accuse Nassar of abuse, praised Biles in a series of tweets that also cheered on those who have been working to change the culture of gymnastics.
“Today, an athlete and her coach chose her safety first,” Denhollander wrote. “This is the change we’ve worked so hard for. If you can’t see it, you’re part of the problem.”
She added, “Simone has a right to protect her privacy, her mind, her story. She earned her spot in Tokyo. She has the right to protect herself. She doesn’t owe you all anything.”
Many people — including Denhollander — referenced Kerri Strug in comparison to Biles’ decision to withdraw. In 1996, Strug famously competed at the Olympics on an injury, an act that has been both praised for her resilience and used as an example of the pressure gymnasts face to compete.
Strug herself wrote she was “sending love to you @Simone_Biles,” along with an emoji of a goat (because Biles is the G.O.A.T.) and a heart.
She went on to send her congratulations to the whole team, saying, “Great respect for all your hard work and support for each other. We are proud of you!”
Amid the discussion, there was also, of course, lots of celebrating.
“Beyond proud of this team. In my heart, we are winners. We fought til the end and didn’t give up,” Lee posted on Instagram. “Tonight may not have gone how we wanted it to but we stepped up to the plate and give it our all. Best team I could’ve asked for.”
And she gave the team a new nickname — the Fighting Four.
(KANSAS CITY) — Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes has bought a stake in MLS club Sporting Kansas City.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to join Sporting Kansas City’s ownership team and strengthen my connection to the fans and the city I love,” said Mahomes in a statement. “Sporting is a community-oriented club and I am excited to continue supporting the growth of soccer in Kansas City.”
Mahomes is also a minority-owner of the Kansas City Royals. His fiancee is a part-owner of the Kansas City NWSL team.
“Patrick is a tremendous ambassador for Kansas City and we are delighted to welcome him to the Sporting Club ownership group,” said Cliff Illig, principal owner of Sporting KC, in a statement. “In addition to achieving excellence on the field, he is deeply committed to giving back to the community and elevating the sport of soccer. Patrick is also accustomed to cultivating a winning culture, and we look forward to contending for championships at Children’s Mercy Park well into the future.”
Mahomes has led the Chiefs to back-to-back Super Bowl appearances and beat San Francisco 31-20 in Super Bowl LIV in 2020.
(WASHINGTON) — Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin has signed a new 5-year, $47.5 million contract, the team announced Tuesday.
“Alex is the face of our franchise and is committed to this organization and this city,” said general manager Brian MacLellan in a statement. “Alex embodies what our franchise is all about, and we’re thrilled that he will continue his career in the Caps uniform for the next five years.”
Ovechkin was drafted 1st overall by the team in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft and is the franchise leader in games played (1,197), goals (730), and points (1,320). In 2018. he captained the team to its first-ever Stanley Cup Championship.
Ovechkin sits in sixth place on the NHL’s all-time goal-scoring list with 730, 165 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894. Ovechkin would need to average 33 goals a season to pass Gretzky by the end of this contract.
“Alex is a world-class athlete who will forever be regarded not only for leading the team to achieve our ultimate goal of winning the Stanley Cup but also for inspiring the next generation of fans and youth players,” said Monumental Sports & Entertainment Founder and CEO Ted Leonsis in a statement.
Last season, Ovechkin scored 24 goals in 45 games and became the first player in NHL history to score at least 20 goals in each of his first 16 seasons in the league. His 30 goal streak to start a career ended last year. He is tied with Jaromir Jagr and Mike Gartner for the most all-time.
