Olympics: Simone Biles Withdraws, 13 Y.O. Skateboarder Wins Gold

07.27.21
Olympics: Simone Biles Withdraws, 13 Y.O. Skateboarder Wins Gold (Photo: Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil)

Before Simone Biles of Team USA stepped on the Olympic floor, she made history as the first Olympian with her own custom emoji. Now, a medical issue caused her to withdraw from the gymnastics team final.

The 24-year-old had a difficult time landing a vault, decided to take a step back and will be assessed daily for clearance for other events. The team took silver in the competition.

“Physically, I feel good. Emotionally it varies on the time and the moment. Coming to the Olympics and being head star isn’t an easy feat,” Biles said on NBC’s “TODAY”.

In the street skateboarding world, Momiji Nishiya of Japan can call herself a gold medalist at just 13 years old. Nishiya’s win makes her one of the youngest gold medal winners in the history of the games.

Nishiya won the gold medal in the inaugural women’s street skateboarding competition with a score of 15.26. 

Although, Nyjah Huston of Team USA fell short in the street skateboarding competition last weekend. Huston was poised to win Olympic gold, but after a series of falls as he attempted challenging tricks saw him finish seventh: one of the worst results of his career, on the highest-profile stage.

Naomi Osaka of Japan returned to playing tennis Sunday and won her first match at her first Olympic games. She beat Zheng Saisai of China 6-1, 6-4.

“The Olympics has been a dream of mine since I was a kid so I feel like the break that I took was very needed,” Osaka told reporters after her win. “I feel definitely a little bit refreshed and I’m happy again.”

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