"No matter what, it's not end of the world"- When Mikaela Shiffrin reflected on Simone Biles' journey from Tokyo heartbreak to Paris Olympics comeback

Mikaela Shiffrin once reflected on Simone Biles’ comeback at the 2024 Paris Olympics following her heartbreaking exit from the Tokyo Games. At the Tokyo Olympics, the gymnastics star encountered a difficult campaign as she experienced the ‘twisties’ during the women’s team competition, leading to her withdrawal midway through the competition.

Although she was expected to win multiple gold medals in Tokyo, she returned home with two medals including a silver in the women’s team and a bronze on the balance beam, the only finals she competed in after experiencing 'twisties'. However, setting aside her campaign in Tokyo, Biles made a great return to the Olympics in Paris, where she bagged four medals - three gold and one silver.

Following the successful comeback, Mikaela Shiffrin commented on how watching Simone Biles and other USA athletes was ‘awe-inspiring’. She reflected on the gymnastic star’s return at the Paris Olympics in an interview with NBCOlympics.com in August 2024, as she said:

“Watching athletes compete at the top of their game at the highest level of competition is just really awe-inspiring no matter what. And Simone, she's just gone through so much publicly, and that’s not something that everyone can relate to… The biggest takeaway from watching her [Biles] compete again is, 'No matter what, it's not the end of the world.’”

Biles’ comeback at the Paris Olympics was a memorable one where she not only redeemed herself by winning three golds to take her overall Olympic medal count to 11 and gold to 7, but also emerged as the most decorated American Olympic gymnast, surpassing Shannon Miller.

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When Simone Biles shared her picks for athletes who would excel in gymnastics ft. Mikaela Shiffrin on balance beam

Jonathan Owens and Simone Biles on the sidelines prior to an NFL football game (Photo by Todd Rosenberg/Getty Images)

Simone Biles named Mikaela Shiffrin as one of the athletes she thought would do well on the balance beam. In an interaction with Laureus Sport, she was asked to pick four athletes outside of gymnastics who she felt could succeed or would want to see in different apparatus - vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise.

Biles chose the alpine skier for the beam event, stating (0:23 onwards) in a video released in September 2023:

“On beam, I would love to see Mikaela Shiffrin because honestly, I think she would be really good at it. Because she’s a beast in her sport and I think there are some similarities in balance.”

She also mentioned how why she would pick her now-husband and Chicago Bears safety, Jonathan Owens, for the vault event, adding:

“I think on the vault, I would love to see my fiance (now husband) NFL player Jonathan Owens because he just swears he could do it.”

The 23-time World Championships gold medalist also shared that she would love to see LeBron James to find out if he could swing, and Serena Williams for the power she possessed. Following her success in 2024, the three-time Laureus Sportswoman of the Year winner has been nominated for the prestigious honor once again in 2025.