“America hates me. The World is going to hate me”- Simone Biles reflects on her mental state following ‘Twisties’ at Tokyo Olympics 2020

Simone Biles, who is the most decorated gymnast at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, recently opened up on her mental state after suffering ‘Twisties’ during the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

She encountered Twisties, a condition which causes mental block while being on air resulting in a disconnection with the body, while performing a vault during the women’s gymnastics team event in Tokyo.

In Biles’ case, she ran down the mat and jumped into the air as she hit the vault table with her hands. Having planned to do two and a half twists initially after launching herself from the vault table, she, however, completed only one-and-a-half rotation before landing weirdly.

Considering how dangerous twisties can be for a gymnast while executing skills, Biles withdrew from five out of six gymnastics events following the incident, including the team event, all-around, vault, uneven bars, and floor exercise.

In her latest interview on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, exclusively available on TODAY.com, Biles talked about facing Twisties and shared the feeling after pulling out of several events. She recalled how she believed that everyone would hate her, stating:

"America hates me. The World is going to hate me. I can only see what they are saying on Twitter right now.”

Biles further mentioned how she wanted to leave the situation:

“And I salute and I want to run. If I could've gotten on a plane and flown home, I would've done it.”

Moreover, the four-time Olympic champion also assumed being banned from the USA, adding:

“I thought I was going to be banned from America because that's what they tell you. Don't come back if not gold. Gold or bust. Don't come back."

Simone Biles’ comeback in Balance Beam after ‘Twisties’ at Tokyo Olympics 2020

Simone Biles of Team United States poses with the bronze medal following the Women's Balance Beam Final on day eleven of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Centre on August 03, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Simone Biles made a sensational return in the balance beam event as she clinched the bronze medal on the apparatus at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Despite performing a scaled-down routine in the finals, she secured a total of 14.000, with a difficulty and execution score of 6.1 and 7.900.

This was her second successive bronze medal in the event, having collected one during the Rio Olympics 2016.

With this win, Simone Biles also improved her medal tally to seven Olympic medals, equaling Shannon Miller’s record for most medals won by an American female gymnast at the Olympic Games.