Tokyo, July 28

Superstar US gymnast Simone Biles pulled out of a second event at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday, withdrawing from the individual all-around competition to focus on her mental health.

Less than 24 hours after she had sent shockwaves around the world by dropping out of the team event, the American said she would not take part in Thursday's final, USA Gymnastics said.

Jade Carey will take her place in Thursday's all-around event.

USA Gymnastics said they "wholeheartedly support Simone’s decision and applaud her bravery in prioritising her well-being.

"Her courage shows, yet again, why she is a role model for so many," it said.

The governing body for the sport in the US said Biles would be evaluated daily to see if she can take part in individual apparatus competitions still to come at the Tokyo Games.

Athletes such as tennis superstar Naomi Osaka and now Biles have highlighted the immense pressures on them, raising questions whether athletes get enough support for mental health.

Osaka lost in her Olympic singles event on Tuesday, her first tournament since pulling out of the French Open in May, when she said she had been suffering from depression for nearly three years.

Biles first sent shockwaves through the Summer Games on Tuesday when she dropped out of the team competition on her opening vault after receiving a low mark.

The 24-year-old has spoken with astonishing candour about the pressure she is under here.

"There is more to life than just gymnastics," Biles said on Tuesday night after pulling out of the team event.

"I know that this Olympic Games I want it to be for myself," she said, tearing up.

"I came in and it felt like I was still doing it for other people, so that just hurts my heart that doing what I love has been kind of taken away from me to please other people.

"We also have to focus on ourselves because at the end of the day, we're human too. We have to protect our mind and our body rather than just go out there and do what the world wants us to do." On Tuesday Biles picked up her sixth Olympic medal for being part of the U.S. squad that went on to place second behind Russia.

International Olympic Committee spokesperson Mark Adams had said earlier on Wednesday the IOC has "huge respect and support" for Biles.

Adams said mental health remained a big issue and that it was a matter the organisation had been working on for some time.

IOC President Thomas Bach was seen in deep conversation with Biles on the floor of the Ariake Gymnastics Centre on Tuesday before awarding medals.

Biles had been sheduled to appear in all six gymnastics event finals and a sweep of the gold medals would have given her 10, making her the most accomplished woman Olympian in any sport.

"More could be done" on athlete mental health, the spokesperson for the International Olympic Commission, Mark Adams, told reporters on Wednesday.

He said mental health remained a big issue and that it was a matter the organisation had been working on for some time.

Elsewhere in Tokyo, champion women made a splash as Australian Ariarne Titmus, American Katie Ledecky and Japan's Yui Ohashi all clinched gold in swimming.

Their powerful showing underscored how women have emerged as the most commanding figures of the first week of the Tokyo Games.

The Games are taking place without spectators and under a state of emergency in Tokyo, unprecedented measures in the history of the modern Olympics. Tokyo reported a record 2,848 new cases on Tuesday, the highest since the pandemic began and a new state of emergency was expected in three prefectures neighbouring the capital city. Reuters