But, the atmosphere is also notably different at the games this year given the limitations spurred by the coronavirus pandemic. One of the most noticeable is the lack of physical spectators, including the athletes’ loved ones. As Biles mentioned, “I’m happy my family was able to be with me virtually they mean the world to me!”
Fellow American gymnast MyKayla Skinner, who unfortunately did not make the cut in the qualifying round and has to leave the country within 48 hours because of COVID-19 protocol, shed light on the challenges the team, including Biles, is facing.
“We come prepared. We were busting out routines. We’re ready to go,” she told Today‘s Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb in their defense on July 26. “But, I mean, it’s hard. There’s no crowd. No one to cheer and support us on besides the guys that came and watched us a little bit, so it was definitely dead in there.”
The silver lining? “I think they got the jitters out now,” Skinner said, “so they’ll be ready for team finals and the rest of their events going on.”
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