"You just can’t accept the real thing" - When Simone Biles opened up on hilarious incident that she thought risked her NCAA career

Simone Biles once opened up about a hilarious incident that she thought risked her NCAA career during the 2010 Houston National Invitational, where she won a cash prize of $5000. At that time, she was keen on joining the collegiate gymnastics rather than turning pro.

After her long-time coach, Aimee Boorman, warned that accepting the cash prize would make her ineligible to compete in college sports, Biles stayed away from even touching the cardboard check, thinking it might risk her college career. However, only after Biles' father Ronald explained to her that the check was meant for photograph purposes and had no real use, she posed with it.

In her autobiography Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance, published in 2016, Biles wrote about the funny incident.

"The press photographer wanted to take a picture of me holding the big cardboard check, I kept telling him, “I can’t touch it!” He was so confused. One of the meet organizers tried to simply lean the check against me for the pictures, but I jumped out of the way."

She added:

“'Simone, please, you have to pick up the check,' the photographer pleaded. 'No, no, my coach said don’t touch it,' I said, looking around for Aimee, who, at that moment, was nowhere to be seen. Finally, my dad came over. 'Simone,' he said, 'this is just a copy of the real check. You can touch it. You just can’t accept the real thing.'”

"Gymnasts only go to the Olympics once" - When Simone Biles revealed the reason for opting pro over collegiate gymnastics

Simone Biles at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France. (Images by Getty)

After navigating a brief period of confusion about joining the pro or collegiate gymnastics, Simone Biles opted for the latter and committed to the UCLA program in 2014. However, after realizing the uncertainty of the sport and the possibility of competing at the Olympics only once, she deferred her enrollment and turned her sights on the Rio Olympics.

Biles wrote in her autobiography:

"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."

At the 2016 Olympics, where Simone Biles made her debut, she collected four gold medals, including the all-around title.