"After Tokyo, I literally had not one ounce of belief in myself"- Simone Biles recounts tragic aftermath of withdrawing from the Olympics

2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Gymnastics - Day 2
2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Gymnastics - Day 2 Simone Biles (Image via Getty)

Simone Biles recently shared that she was left with no self-belief after she withdrew from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the wake of 'twisties'. Biles entered the Tokyo Olympic gates as the heavy favorite after she swept five medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Simone Biles, the four-time Olympic gold medalist, earned the coveted Paris Olympic seat after finishing on top at the 2024 US Olympic Gymnastics Trials, scoring an overall 117.225. Her impressive resume encompasses six world titles, nine US Championship titles, and seven US Classic titles, among others.

At her debut Olympiad in 2016 Rio, she won the bronze in balance beam and four golds in floor, team, individual all-around, and vault. On account of her reigning position, Biles graced the Tokyo Olympics roster as the top seed. But she had to walk out of the competition due to 'twisties', a failure in communication between the body and mind when the gymnast stays in mid-air.

Biles' newest docuseries, Simone Biles Rising, will be released on Netflix on July 17, 2024. The episodes will primarily feature the Olympian's mental roadblock story and how she navigated it. In one of the episodes, she unveiled that her confidence was reduced to zero after the Tokyo Olympics.

"After Tokyo, I literally had not one once of belief in myself." (via The Things)

She also shared that her mental block, 'twisties', was a trauma response. Larry Nassar, the former team doctor of USA Gymnastics, sexually abused several gymnasts over the years, and Biles was also a victim of his evil intentions.

Simone Biles was so burdened with people's expectations that she felt she would be banned from America for not bringing any gold to the nation.

"That was my first thought … I thought I was going to be banned from America. Because that’s what they tell you, ‘Don’t come back if it’s not gold. Gold or bust – don’t come back,'" she said. (via Call Her Daddy podcast)

Simone Biles has been vocal about her mental health issues

2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Gymnastics - Day 4
2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Gymnastics - Day 4

Biles was always vocal about her mental health struggles and inspired the young crowd to stand up for themselves. Since she also fought the traumas from foster care and battled ADHD, her stories served as motivation for women who wished to follow in her footsteps.

"To be an advocate for anything that I’ve been outspoke about. Mental health, foster care, ADHD. But also just someone that gave it her all, never gave up," she said. (via Olympics.com)

Simone Biles will look to add more gold to her repertoire at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The women's gymnastics events will start on July 28, 2024.

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Edited by Prem Deshpande
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