"I look at them to calm me down" - Simone Biles explains how parents Ronald and Nelie Biles relieved her stress at Paris Olympics

Simone Biles credited her parents Ronald and Nellie Biles for relieving her stress by standing near her in the audience at the Paris Olympics 2024. The eight-time Olympic champion spoke about their role in the second part of her Netflix docuseries, which premiered on October 25.

Biles was phenomenal at the Olympic Games, largely dominating the women's competition inside the Bercy Arena. She first won the gold medal in the women's team finals before recapturing her all-around title from Brazil's Rebecca Andrade.

The 27-year-old continued her dominance in the vault competition as she performed her final Yurchenko Double Pike to win her third gold medal of the Games. Biles then went on to win a silver in the floor competition. Her parents were always there, cheering her on from the stands, as she claimed medal after medal.

Biles spoke about the importance of their presence in the stands in her Netflix docuseries 'Simone Biles: Rising', saying (via Gymnastics Now):

"I look at them in the audience just to just calm me down, it's just a stress reliever..."

She added:

"To have this experience in Paris where I could talk to them, go see them, it meant the world to me because again, these are memories we’ll cherish together.”

The 27-year-old was without the support of her family at the Covid-affected 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where her campaign was largely marred by twisties. Biles was adopted by Ron and Nelie when she was six years old after spending a large part of her childhood in foster care.

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Simone Biles donates $50,000 for the betterment of children including those in foster care

Los Angeles Premiere Of Netflix's "Simone Biles Rising: Part 2" (Source: Getty)

Simone Biles recently made a $50,000 donation to Friends of Children, a nonprofit that helps kids who are living in adverse conditions, such as foster care. The 27-year-old later claimed that it was an important decision for her because she saw herself in those kids.

"It's so important to me because I can see myself in these kids and what they go through and what they grow through," she told USA Today

The 11-time Olympic medalist added that while the odds were always against her in foster care, it had also shaped her in a good way.

"Growing up in foster (care), the statistics are just against you and it is what it is. But coming out on top of that, rising above − obviously I had my family to help, but I am who I am today because of foster care. And so I want the kids to also cherish and remember that and that you can do anything," she added

Biles' biological parents suffered from alcohol and drug abuse which led to the gymnast and her three siblings being sent to foster care before Nelie and Ronald adopted her and her younger sister, Adria Biles.