Simone Biles sends a thank-you message via Twitter after withdrawing from the Olympics

TOKYO — Feeling loved, the four-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles took to Twitter on Thursday to express her gratitude for the support she’s received since pulling out of the team and all-around competitions. “It made me realize I was more than just my accomplishments and gymnastics that I had never believed before,” he added, adding a silver heart emoji to the post. Her decision to withdraw from Tuesday night’s tag team competition after one event, saying she wasn’t in a good vacuum and was concerned about her physical safety. She rejected her Amanar vault, stopped twisting halfway and fell to the ground. Low, almost to her knees. But it could easily have landed on her head or neck. Mental health issues have affected Biles’ performance before, including in the run-up to the 2016 Olympics. But expectations on her in Tokyo, where she was expected to win a record five gold medals, and the accompanying spotlight exacerbating her uneasiness, made several One of the gross, uncharacteristic mistakes she made during Sunday’s playoffs, and she said she was so unsettled before the team final was that she was shivering and unable to sleep. “At these Olympics, I wanted to be myself. It just hurts my heart because doing what I love was kind of snatching away from me to please others,” Biles said after the team final. Athletes are increasingly talking about the importance of mental health, and the toxic effect that can be The focus is on performance and results. Swimmer Michael Phelps has done this job since his retirement, and said he hopes the Bills decision will remind athletes – and everyone else – that they are more than their medals. “I hope this is a great experience, I’m really doing it,” Phelps said Wednesday on NBC. “I hope this is an opportunity for us to jump on board and even blast this mental health thing more broadly.”