Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles admitted that she knew the Tokyo Olympics was not going to end well, according to her new Netflix docuseries.
Simone Biles Rising, directed by Katie Walsh, takes an intimate look at how the celebrated gymnast built her incredible career, confidence and health (both physical and mental) back up for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics.
We at TheThings.com were able to watch the first two episodes of the show ahead of the mid-July debut.
This article will reveal new information about why America’s sweetheart quit the Tokyo Olympics.
Then, it will take a look at how Simone recovered from the scrutiny to gear up for the Summer Olympics starting July 26, 2024 in Paris, France.
Why Did Simone Biles Withdraw From The Tokyo Olympics?
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games were postponed until the summer of 2021 due to the Coronavirus pandemic, but were eventually held using the same branding of Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, according to the International Olympic Committee’s website. Foreign fans were not allowed to attend the Games that year.
During the competition, Simone Biles withdrew from the team final halfway through due to what’s known as the “twisties.”
Gymnasts describe the “twisties” as a serious failure of muscle memory where the brain and body do not communicate during tricks.
Just imagine you’re getting on a roller coaster, and you close your eyes, and then they change the roller coaster, then you go.
In the docuseries, 1992 Olympic Bronze Medalist Betty Okino said “you can die” from the “twisties.”
It’s the reality of flipping up in the air upside down and having to land on your feet. Your head could go first.
Experts in the documentary say the only way to cure it is to take some time off to understand why it happened. They say most of the time the cause is unrelated to gymnastics.
Biles revealed her mind went “silent” while she was competing that day and eventually admitted she was still trying to recover from the abuse she suffered at the hands of former USA Gymnastics physician Larry Nassar, who was convicted of sexually abusing hundreds of young athletes – including Simone – for decades.
The Houston resident was trying to “push down” her trauma from Nassar until she retired from the sport, but admitted that it came to a boiling point at the Olympics and her body and mind were shutting down on one of the world’s largest stages.
Her decision to quit in the middle of the competition put her in an even darker place.
After Tokyo, I literally had not one ounce of belief in myself.
Simone told filmmakers it was hard to avoid the criticism coming from unhappy fans and didn’t even want to step outside most days because she felt there was a sign on her head that said “loser” and “quitter.”
It felt like I was in jail with my own brain and body.
On top of that, she still couldn’t get her body and brain on the same page while working out at the gym.
The champion thought that at 27 years old, she would have retired from the sport but, wasn’t ready to step back until the decision could be made on her terms.
Simone Usually Avoids Her Closet Filled With Olympics Gear
While looking inside what she calls her “forbidden Olympic closet,” she said “I used to sit here and just cry and cry and cry and ask God why this happened to me.”
The closet even had her “beautiful” leotard that she was wore as she backed out of the games. The storage space also had pins, a plane ticket and a Covid-19 mask.
How Simone Started Building Back Her Career After Quitting The Olympics
It took until January 2023 for Simone to start taking the sport seriously again, which is a sharp difference from how she used to prepare for competitions.
The most decorated gymnast in World Championship history started small and just tried flips on the trampoline. In the docuseries, she said she felt lost the first few months and time off for weeks just to get back in a good headspace.
When she started planning to reenter the competitive world, this time she had to balance her gym life with her controversial marriage with NFL safety Jonathan Owens and therapy sessions.
Simone insists that she’s freed herself from “a lot of that big stuff” and works with her therapist on tools to calm her mind during competitions like visualizing herself at the beach and taking deep breaths.
Strong relationships with her family and friendship with gymnasts like Aly Raisman helped her bounce back, according to the docuseries.
Simone Details Her Struggle With Depression
Simone didn’t only face hard times after the Tokyo Olympic Games. After Simone and the ‘Final Five’ gymnasts dominated the 2016 Rio Olympics, Simone admitted she also went into a depression.
I knew I just like, needed to get rest but even whenever I was resting, I wasn’t resting.
She said she even stopped doing things she was passionate about and then the headlines about Larry Nassar surfaced.
Her mother said there was even a day when she was “hysterical” and cried non-stop.
Other Olympians, like Michael Phelps, also said they’ve struggled with mental health.
Simone Biles’ Records
The gymnast has seven Olympic medals (four gold, one silver and two bronze) along with 30 World Championship medals (23 gold, four silver and three bronze).
Here are the records she holds:
- Most decorated gymnast in World Championships history.
- Most World gold medals (23).
- Seven Olympic medals (tied with Shannon Miller for the most Olympic medals won by an American gymnast)
- She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Joe Biden in 2022.
Biles qualified for the 2024 Olympics in June. Team USA gymnasts will head to France wearing uniforms that contain more than 10,000 Swarovski crystals each, according to E! News. Apparently, each American flag-inspired outfit weights more than twice the weight of an average T-shirt.
