The Greatest of All Time, Simone Biles, had a legendary run at the Paris Olympics. After the challenges she faced at the Tokyo Olympics, the American gymnast made a triumphant return to complete her redemption arc. However, the background story reveals more than meets the eye, as Biles goes in-depth in her Netflix documentary, Simone Biles Rising II.
Despite being the most decorated gymnast in history, Simone Biles is not immune to nerves. In the second installment of her Netflix documentary, she opened up about the mental and physical struggles she faced during the Paris Olympics. The Olympic champion emphasized the pressure to perform at the Summer Games, especially following her experience in 2020. The 27-year-old gymnast felt she had one ultimate chance to prove herself as the greatest, and she certainly seized it, bringing home the gold.
Simone Biles being the unstoppable force, clinched one gold after another at the Paris Olympics. On one occasion, she even sprained her ankle but didn’t let it affect her performance. In a teaser for her Netflix documentary, Biles confessed that she pushed through the ankle pain because she didn’t want people to think of her as a quitter “again.”
Back in 2020, Simone Biles withdrew from the individual all-around finals at the Tokyo Olympics due to mental health problems. Subsequently, she went on a short hiatus from the sport until 2023. Post that, Biles focused on her mental health and personal growth, leading to her impressive performance for the Paris Olympics.
Simone Biles sees the silver lining in Tokyo Olympics
After her successful campaign at the Paris Olympics, Simone Biles reflected on the challenges she faced during the Tokyo Olympics. The legendary gymnast encountered a phenomenon known as the “twisties,” which causes athletes to feel out of sync with their bodies and minds while performing.
Reflecting on the incident with NESN, Simone Biles claimed that she considers it a ‘blessing in disguise‘. Biles expressed that despite the challenges at the time, it worked out in her favor at the end. She gave the credits for her stable mental health to the very incident.
The incident was the starting of Biles’ advocacy for mental health. She admitted that she would not have been able to connect with the audience hadn’t she had her wakeup call. Consequently, she revealed always having wanted her followers to see her as a human, rather than an idealistic image of a perfect athlete.