Why Simone Biles Didn't Walk in the Tokyo Olympics Opening Ceremony

The opening ceremony for the Tokyo Olympics has come and gone, and you might have noticed a certain GOAT was missing from the festivities.

Simone Biles — along with the rest of Team USA’s gymnasts — didn’t walk in Friday’s opening ceremony, though they did get decked out in official team gear for an Instagram photo op. People reports that the gymnasts have their attention on their upcoming competitions, and therefore didn’t participate in the official culminating event on July 23.

“The men's and women's artistic gymnasts did not walk,” Meredith Yeoman, spokeswoman for USA Gymnastics, confirmed to People. “They will be competing within the next couple of days and are focused on preparation.”

In a post on her IG Story, Simone expanded further. She shared that the gymnasts’ competitions start day after the opening ceremony, and added that “it wouldn’t be smart” to participate, where there’s notoriously a lot of waiting. “The amount of standing is crazy,” Simone wrote, noting that USA is towards the end of the event because of the alphabetical order. COVID was also a concern, according to the athlete. But not to miss out on the fun, Simone posted that she and her fellow gymnasts (including the other three members of this year’s Core Four) “did our own little walk outside where we are staying.”

There’s no doubt all eyes will be on Simone and the other Team USA gymnasts this year as the games get started — after all, the 24-year-old has 25 World Championships medals, four Olympic gold medals, and a host of several others, along with several moves named after her. This year, she added another honor — her very own Twitter hashtag emoji, which is, unsurprisingly, a goat in mid-split leap. The one true GOAT deserves nothing less!

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Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue