"She said, I can't do this, take me out": When Simone Biles' coach recalled gymnast asking to bring in Mykayla Skinner at Tokyo Olympics amid twisties

Simone Biles asked to call up MyKayla Skinner to the Tokyo Olympics, as claimed by her then-coach Cecile Landi in a podcast episode released in 2022. Skinner was initially an alternate in the Team US but had to compete after Biles withdrew her name from the ongoing 2020 Summer Games.

The 28-year-old struggled during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics due to twisties, which is a mental block that made the gymnast lose herself in the air every time she attempted to complete a twist. She couldn't push herself to perform during the Olympics as she might have ended up getting hurt.

Biles withdrew from the games and asked MyKayla Skinner to replace her during the team all-around event. The team's former coach, Cecile Landi, spoke about this incident in Nicole Langevin's podcast, What Makes You Think in 2022. Landi detailed the turn of events and how Biles urged her coach to have MyKayla Skinner replace her.

"She (Simone Biles) looked at me and said, 'I can't, I can't do it Cecile' and I could tell, it was truly her eyes. I don't know what else I could have done differently, like be like, 'just get over it or go on the bars.' No, it was not gonna be good for her and she should have seriously injured herself and then her second thought was 'Mykayla can't leave. She can't.' She was supposed to fly the next day. And she ( Biles) is like 'I don't think I will be able to do vault and MyKayla needs to do vault so please text Anny right now and tell not to take MyKayla to the airport tomorrow.'" (7:00 onwards)

Mentioning how Biles reaffirmed her belief in MyKayla and said the US team could clinch the silver medal, Landi added:

"And, so, I did, I said, hey, MyKayla needs to change her flight , Simone doesn't think she can do vault. I am not sure yet but MyKayla needs to be here just in case. I don't know how it worked out for MyKayla, but Simone said, 'I can't do this, take me out. MyKayla needs to stay, and they can get a silver, I know they can get a medal, they need a medal, and they need to fight for it, and if I am in it, I am gonna ruin it for them, so I can't do it.'"

After Simone Biles withdrew from the competition, MyKayla Skinner, who replaced her in the vault event, earned a silver medal in the vault final.

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Simone Biles opened up about her mental health while mentoring Snoop Dogg's team

Last month, Simone Biles joined the singing reality show The Voice as a guest mentor for Snoop Dogg's team. During her time as a mentor, Biles helped the contestants build self-confidence and handle the mental pressure that builds in competitions.

In the show, the 27-year-old gymnast opened up about her role beside Snoop Dogg and discussed her mental health struggles.

"We were able to riff off each other and give the artists the best insight going into the next round. It was pretty easy, simple. We’re both very mellow. But if we need to bring that energy up, then we can. For us, it was about instilling confidence going into the next week," Simone Biles said.

Talking about how she herself went through 'ups and downs' to this day, Biles added:

"It's not easy every single day, I still go through ups and downs but that is the mental health journey. Believe in yourself and it gets better and also it's okay to not be okay."

After competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she won four medals, Simone Biles wrapped up her season after performing in the Gold Over America Tour.