MyKayla Skinner Says She Believes Simone Biles Will Compete in Balance Beam Final

After winning silver in the vault on Sunday, MyKayla Skinner said she thinks Simone Biles will compete in Tuesday's balance beam final.

Sign up for our free daily Olympics newsletter: Very Olympic Today. You'll catch up on the top stories, smaller events, things you may have missed while you were sleeping and links to the best writing from SI’s reporters on the ground in Tokyo.

As a replacement for Simone Biles, MyKayla Skinner won an Olympic silver medal in the vault on Sunday. What she said afterward nearly stole her own headlines. 

When asked whether her close friend and teammate Biles would return to compete in Tuesday's balance beam final, Skinner responded in the affirmative.  

“Yeah, I think so. Yes. Yes,” Skinner told media on Sunday after winning silver. "... I don't know for sure, it’s kind of up to her … She should. I think she’s going to.”

Earlier on Sunday, USA Gymnastics announced that Biles had withdrawn from Monday's floor routine, leaving the balance beam final as the last gymnastics event in Tokyo. Biles has not competed since she dropped out of the women's team final on Tuesday, saying that she wanted to focus on her mental health following a bout of what gymnasts call the "twisties." 

Skinner was set to return home last week until Biles's team asked her to stick around as an alternate in case Biles didn't compete. The 24-year-old even posted a farewell message on Instagram where she said she was "closing the book on my gymnastics career." But Sunday in the vault, Skinner finished second to Rebeca Andrade, who won Brazil's first gold medal in gymnastics. 

Meanwhile, Suni Lee took home bronze on Sunday in the women's uneven bars after winning gold in the individual all-around event last week.