Mikaela Shiffrin on meeting Simone Biles at Paris Olympics - "She just giggles and it's contagious"

Mikaela Shiffrin recalled meeting Simone Biles at the 2024 Paris Olympics and being impressed with the gymnast's contagious laughter and cool nature. Shiffrin attended the marquee event in the French capital, where Biles collected three golds and one silver.

Biles faced 'twisties' at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, withdrawing midway through the competition. Since then, she has been a mental health advocate, helping fellow athletes with motivational words when they face similar difficulties. Shiffrin, the US alpine skier with the most World Cup wins, walked home from the 2022 Winter Olympics with no medals, in the wake of performance pressure-related mental struggles.

In a live session with Laureus Sport in 2023, Biles and Shiffrin shared space to talk about mental health on Women's Day. The former recalled the time when she reached out to the alpine skier after her Winter Olympics heartbreak.

"I saw the experience that Mikaela went through and I had just gone through that, so I didn't want her to feel alone and [I was] like, 'Hey, it's OK. This stuff happens. You're still amazing, who cares about the comments?" the 27-year-old said.

Cut to 2024, the sporting icons met at the Paris Games, talking about their similar Olympic experiences. In an exclusive interview with Olympics.com, the 29-year-old reminisced about the gymnast's contagious laughter and cool nature.

"Of course, her experience in [Tokyo] and comparing our experiences with the Olympics, but also just competing and the expectations that people have when they anticipate you're going to win everything – just the sort of similarities in that mentality."

She added:

"So it was really cool, she's just like… she just loves to laugh, she just giggles and it's contagious. It was really amazing to meet her."

Biles won gold medals in the all-around, vault, and team, and silver in the floor routine.

---

Mikaela Shiffrin anticipated the release of Simone Biles Rising with a supportive message

Simone Biles smiling at the Olympic Games Paris 2024: (Source: Getty)

The second part of Simone Biles Rising will hit Netflix on October 25, 2024, encompassing Biles' Olympic trials performance, advancement to the Paris Games and history-making performances. Her 2016 Rio Olympics teammate Aly Raisman expressed anticipation and wrote:

"Calendar marked for October 25th. CAN’T WAIT. So proud of you @Simone_Biles," read her comment. (via Raisman's X handle)

Shiffrin chimed in and wrote:

"Same…can’t wait to watch this !!"

Simone Biles recently attended the premiere night of her Netflix docuseries with her family, wearing a floral black sheath dress. The Gold Over America tour is currently underway and is set to take the stage at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland on October 27, 2024.