Simone Biles' Husband Jonathan Owens Honors Her With New Ring Finger Tattoo
Simone Biles is looking back at her road to healing ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Ahead of her third Olympics, the world's most decorated gymnast reflected on her struggles at the 2020 Olympic Games—including withdrawing from several events citing mental health concerns and a case of the “twisties”— that almost derailed her career.
“It’s a trauma response of everything that has happened," Biles said on the Netflix docuseries Simone Biles Rising, released July 17, "just being like, a survivor and all of the other things.”
In 2018, former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University doctor Larry Nassar was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison for sexually abusing scores of young female gymnasts, including Biles and other Team USA gymnasts, under the guise of medical treatment.
“Everything that has happened, I’ve just like, I'll push it down, shove it down, wait until my career’s done, go fix it.’ And something like this happens and unfortunately, to me, it happened at the Olympics," Biles, 27, said about her struggles in Tokyo. “I didn’t get the proper care before because I just thought I was OK."
photosFirst Look at Team USA's Gymnastics Uniforms for 2024 Paris Olympics
At the Tokyo Olympics, which took place in 2021 after being delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Biles went on to make a comeback to win a bronze medal in the balance beam final. But her confidence was gone.
“After Tokyo, I literally had not one ounce of belief in myself. You just don’t know if you can do it again," she said on the docuseries. "I was like, ‘Is this really how my career ends? That’s tragic.’”
Kyle Okita/Cal Sport Media
Ultimately, with a strong support system around her, Biles returned to the gym and began to train, making her return to competitive gymnastics in 2023 after a two-year break—winning big in several competitions and earning her spot on her third Olympic team.
“This time, coming back, it’s truly for myself," Biles said on the docuseries. "But it’s also, I never want to look back in 10 years and say, ‘Oh, what if I could’ve done another Olympic cycle or at least tried?’"
Steven Garcia/ZUMA Press Wire
She didn’t want to be afraid of gymnastics anymore. "Because so much has happened in this sport, so much has scared the living s–t out of me,” she added, “that I couldn’t have it take that one last thing from me," she said, adding, "Also, ending on my own terms.”
Look back at the times Biles proved she is the GOAT…
Watch the 2024 Paris Olympics daily on NBC and Peacock until the summer games end with the Closing Ceremony on Sunday, Aug. 11, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.