"Most female gymnasts only go to the Olympics once" - When Simone Biles revealed the reason why she chose to turn pro over collegiate gymnastics

Simone Biles has enjoyed an unparalleled professional gymnastics career so far with 11 Olympic and 30 World Championships medals. However, Biles was in plight when the option of turning pro over collegiate gymnastics rose.

After her back-to-back victorious run at the 2013 and 2014 World Championships victories, she came across a crossroad to make a choice between her Olympic dream or competing in collegiate gymnastics. In her autobiography "Courage to Soar" published in 2016, Biles reflected on the dilemma, highlighting that most of female gymnast have a limited window of opportunity to compete in the Olympics, typically only once in their careers.

Biles also emphasized that unlike other sports where athletes can qualify for multiple Olympic Games, gymnastics is different due to its demanding physical nature and relatively short peak performance years for females.

"I played with the idea of turning pro when I was done with college, but I knew the timing wouldn’t work," the American wrote. "Sponsors wanted me now, in the run up to the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Turning pro in advance of Rio was the sure thing. I’d be twenty-three when the Olympics came back around in 2020. There was no way to know if I’d still be at the top of my game. Gymnastics wasn’t like soccer or swimming or track and field, where athletes could qualify multiple times. Most female gymnasts only go to the Olympics once."

"Giving up a smaller dream for a bigger one" - When Simone Biles opened up about the reason to turn pro before the Olympic Games

Simone Biles at the 2023 U.S. Classic. (Source: Getty)

In her autobiography "Courage to Soar," Simone Biles explained that by turning professional before the 2016 Games, she was sacrificing a smaller dream for a bigger one (Olympics) which she had a real chance of achieving, while also convincing herself that college could come later.

"After weeks of agonizing and praying for guidance and weighing my family’s loving advice (yes, even Adria’s), this is how I finally explained the decision to myself: Okay, Simone, you’re giving up one of your dreams for an even bigger dream that you’re chasing—Olympic success."

She added:

"You’re giving up a smaller dream for a bigger one that you actually have a chance of achieving. You can still go to college afterward."

Simone Biles verbally committed to the UCLA Bruins gymnastics team in 2014, opting to defer the enrollment till the Olympic Games. The American has enjoyed an exemplary Olympic career so far with 11 medals to her name, seven of which are gold.