Simone Biles feared the wrath of supporters after struggling through the “ups and downs” at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
During a recent appearance On the podcast “Call Her Daddy”the seven-time Olympic medalist recalled feeling a disconnect between her mind and body in the lead-up to the gymnastics competition at the Summer Olympics, ultimately leading Biles to withdraw from multiple competitions to focus on her mental health.
“I was already feeling the ‘twist’ during practice,” Biles said of the phenomenon, which causes gymnasts to lose sense of where they are in the air and can lead to dangerous landings.
“But I’m trying to get through it and I’m literally going to say to my teammates, ‘I’m fighting demons.'” I’m fighting demons right now, but I’m going to do it for you guys too. . ” The cord was not connected. ”
Biles, 27 years old; I ended up stumbling inside the safe. competition before withdrawing from the team finals.
“So I did an open landing like that. And as soon as I landed, I kind of grinned and was like, ‘St,’ saluted, and I wanted to run,” said the four-time Olympian. said the gold medalist.
Ms. Biles immediately felt that she had let America down in the aftermath of what had happened.
“If I could have gotten on a plane and gone home, I would have. But as soon as I landed, I thought, ‘Oh, America hates me.’ The world is going to hate me and now I can only watch what they say on Twitter. ‘That was my first thought,” Biles said.
“…I thought I was going to be kicked out of America.”
Instead, many rallied to support Biles as she focused on mental health.
“Someone said it best. @Simone_Biles has already won. She is a class performer. Dropped from the team competition after the vault… cheering on her teammates… putting chalk on her hands… I received… encouragement… a hug. She already won.” “Today” Hoda Kotb. posted on social media at that time.
Former Olympic gymnast Aly Riseman also praised Biles’ vulnerability.
“I think it’s really brave of her to be so open about why she wasn’t able to finish the event. I think it takes a lot of courage to do that,” Riseman said. according to people.
After withdrawing from other events at the Tokyo Games, Biles returned to the balance beam final and won the bronze medal.
American gymnasts won the silver medal in the team event.
Biles, the most decorated female gymnast in history, is scheduled to make her Olympic season debut at the U.S. Classic event in Connecticut next month.
The U.S. championships will begin in late May in Texas, and the Olympic team will be announced in June before this summer’s Paris Games.
