In the final on the balance beam: Simone Biles returns to the Olympics

US gymnast Simone Biles returns to the gymnastics stage and thus in the public eye after a break due to health problems at the Olympic Games. The 24-year-old confirmed her participation in the balance beam final on Tuesday (10.50 a.m. CEST in the FAZ live ticker for Olympia, on ZDF and on Eurosport). "We are very happy to announce that tomorrow we will see two US athletes in the finals on the balance beam - Sunisa Lee AND Simone Biles," wrote the US Gymnastics Federation on Twitter. Sunisa Lee had won all-around gold at the Ariake Gymnastics Center as the successor to Biles.

The balance beam final at the end of the women's competitions is only Biles' second appearance in the medal battle at the Tokyo Games. Previously, the four-time Olympic champion from Rio de Janeiro had given up on decisions in the all-around competition, on the ground, on the uneven bars and in the jump due to mental problems. The 19-time world champion broke off the team competition after only using one device and then made her psychological problems public, for which she received a lot of support worldwide.

“I say mental health comes first.

So sometimes it's okay to even sit out the big competitions to focus on yourself.

It shows how strong you really are as a competitor and person instead of just fighting your way through, "Biles said and spoke of the" fight against demons "before the competition.

Body and mind are currently not in harmony, she had reported and wrote about so-called "twisties" in the story on Instagram, which was partly in question / answer form.

This is what the USA calls mental blocks in gymnastics.

Before the trip to Tokyo, she had no problems.

These only started after the qualification.

Already in the elimination, the 1.42-meter-tall gymnast showed unexpected weaknesses, but still reached five finals. She had reached 14.066 points on the balance beam - so Biles will start in the final as fourth of the eight best gymnasts. The best of the qualification was the Chinese Guan Chenchen with 14,933 points. Five years ago in Rio, Biles had won gold with the team, in the all-around, on the ground and in the jump and was third on the balance beam.