Simone Biles is considered one of the greatest gymnasts in the world. However, she hasn't competed since the 2020 Olympics. This has created doubt in the minds of her fans about whether she has retired from the sport.
The answer is no. Most recently, she responded to a fan's tweet that assumed she had recently retired from gymnastics. She informed the concerned that she was only taking time off from the sport to work on her mental health.
The tweet came as a big relief to her fans as she had previously provided no updates regarding her gymnastics career.
At the 2020 Olympics, she suffered several mishaps during the qualification rounds of the all-round finals event. Yet she qualified for the all-round finals, vault finals, floor exercise finals, balance beam finals, and uneven bar finals. This was a testament to her skills as a gymnast.
She performed in the team finals but later withdrew from the rest of the team competition. In that event, Team USA won the silver medal. Subsequently, she withdrew from the individual all-round finals, floor finals, vault finals, and uneven bar finals, citing mental health issues. She participated only in the balance beam final and won the bronze medal.
Biles stated that she was inspired by Naomi Osaka of Japan. Osaka withdrew from the French Open and Wimbledon Championships earlier that year, also citing mental health reasons.
Biles is currently taking a break from the sport but maybe a comeback is on the cards for her. She has received support from across the sporting fraternity, including Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky, and Ronda Rousey, for prioritizing her mental health over her profession. If she decides to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics, her fans can expect her to win a medal.
Biles' record at the Olympics
Simone Biles has won a record seven medals at the Olympic games, which includes four golds, one silver, and two bronze medals.
Her first Olympic event was at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She qualified first in four out of the five individual events. The gymnast won her first gold medal in the team event. Team USA won the gold medal with a score of 184.897. The Russian team won the silver medal. They scored eight points behind Team USA.
Biles followed up with gold medals in all-round individual finals, vault finals, and floor exercise finals. She was only able to win the bronze medal in the balance beam event. She made a mistake that resulted in her being awarded a mandatory 0.5 point deduction. Biles' teammate, Laurie Hernandez, had won the silver medal.
Simone went on to win a silver and bronze medal at the 2020 Olympics. She had won the silver medal at the team event followed by a bronze in the balance beam finals. This was her second consecutive bronze medal in the balance beam finals of the Olympics.
Gymnastics fans across the world are waiting for Biles to return. Hopefully, we will get to see her perform in the Gymnastics arena sooner rather than later.