US gymnastics star Simone Biles has said the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games is ‘bittersweet’.

The 23 year-old, who is a four-time Olympic gold medallist and a 19-time world champion, will be looking ahead to her second Games next summer.

The Games were set to take place this summer but were pushed back a year due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Biles told the Houston Chronicle: "It’s bittersweet, obviously, but (the Olympic) delay is for the best and for everyone’s health and safety.

“The pandemic will slow down if we do the right things. So I’m just chugging along.”

But training hasn’t died down and Biles is still in the gym 32 hours a week at the World Champions Centre in Montgomery County.

She hasn’t competed since last autumn and with nearly a year out, she is still determined to reach her goals. 

She added: "I’m definitely still working toward something, because in the end there’s still that goal we have. We kind of just revised our schedule toward 2021.

“We’ll start putting skills together here soon, and then hopefully by January we’ll have routines put together and set so that we can start the competition season.

“Since we have a bit more time, we’re trying upgrades, but we’ll have to see how they fit and make sense. We’re kind of just playing around in the gym.”