Tokyo 2020: Olympic champion Simone Biles withdraws from another two gymnastics finals

Simone Biles has pulled out of another two events in the gymnastics finals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

The four-time Olympic champion will not defend her vault title and has chosen not to compete in the uneven bars, after removing herself from competition on Tuesday and Thursday to focus on her mental health.

The 24-year-old, considered by many to be the greatest gymnast ever, said she had to "focus on my mental health".

Biles, who's won six Olympic medals, revealed she has been dealing with "the twisties"- an issue whereby gymnasts are sudden unable to feel comfortable while twisting in midair.

The US star is scheduled to compete in both the balance beam and floor exercise finals next week - whether she will do so has not yet been confirmed.

Biles had been working on performing the Yurchenko Double Pike vault in Tokyo.

She unveiled the vault — one never done by a woman in competition — in May.

If she had been able to successfully land the vault, which requires the gymnast to do a roundoff and back handspring onto the table before two backward somersaults with her hands clasped behind her legs, the vault would then carry her name in the sport’s Code of Points.

USA Gymnastics said Biles will continue to be evaluated daily to determine her potential readiness for future competitions.

After withdrawing from competition earlier in the week, Biles told a press briefing she needed to work on her "mindfulness".

She continued: "I didn't want to risk the team a medal for my screw-ups because they've worked way too hard for that."

She said it has been "really stressful" this year in the Olympics.

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"Not having an audience. There are a lot of different variables going into it. It's been a long week, it's been a long Olympics process, it's been a long year," she said.

"So just a lot of different variables and I think we're just a little bit too stressed out. But we should be out here having fun and sometimes that's not the case."

She continued: "I say put mental health first because if you don't, then you're not going to enjoy your sport and you're not going to succeed as much as you want to.

The champion has seen an outpouring of support for her honesty about the mental and emotional impact of sport and competition.

On Thursday, she tweeted: "The outpouring love & support I’ve received has made me realise I’m more than my accomplishments and gymnastics which I never truly believed before."