She is the gymnast with the most titles: four Olympic golds, has performed jumps and moves that no one had achieved before, five of which bear her name, and she aims to add a sixth in these Paris Games. But in her Olympic medal collection, alongside all her sporting achievements, also stands her withdrawal from the Tokyo Games: retiring in time from a competition and admitting that an athlete is not invincible and that, for them too, mental health takes precedence over physical endurance.
Simone Biles (Ohio, 27 years old) is now in Paris as a goddess returning to Olympus. She is one of the major stars expected to shine at the event, one of the athletes who generates the most excitement, following her withdrawal three years ago. The French press does not hold back in praising the athlete, calling her "the superstar of gymnastics, the best of all time," as acclaimed by the economic newspaper Les Echos. The sports newspaper L'Équipe also addresses Biles' comeback, referring to her as "an icon on the path to redemption," who will avenge the bitter experience she had in Tokyo in Paris.
The American was not present at the opening ceremony held on the Seine. Absent on her delegation's boat under the universal downpour on Friday, the French press closely follows her every move. Like her training last Thursday at the Bercy Arena, where the artistic gymnastics events kick off today.
For now, Simone is attempting to master a new move, aiming to have six maneuvers named after her: it is a somersault performed by another athlete. An Olympic champion, she wants to push the boundaries, and if she cleanly executes this twist, it will be named in her honor.
Today, she takes selfies during training sessions with a renewed smile, but these past years have not been easy. She withdrew from the Tokyo Games due to a psychological block that led her to experience the so-called twisties. This occurs when athletes lose their sense of space and dimension while spinning in the air. Head and body disconnect. During one of the Tokyo events, Biles had trouble landing, prompting her decision to withdraw and focus on her mental well-being.
"If you think about everything I've been through in the last seven years, you realize that I should never have been part of another Olympic team (...) I don't want any other Olympic athlete to go through this," the athlete said at that time.
Additionally, the American had to testify, along with three other athletes, about the abuses suffered by Larry Nassar, the former doctor of the US women's gymnastics team. "I have won a total of 25 medals in World Championships, seven in the Olympics, and I am a survivor of sexual abuse," Biles stated before the US Senate committee investigating the scandal.
The testimony continued with tears. She accused the United States Gymnastics Federation (USAG) and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee of knowing "long before" that she had been abused. In 2018, the athlete had already confessed to being a victim of the former doctor, who has been convicted of abuses committed over decades against more than 200 gymnasts.
"reminding myself that I can still do it"
Her future had been uncertain for these past three years, but she decided to return: "Actually, no one is forcing me to do it," the athlete explained when announcing her comeback to Paris. "I wake up every day and choose to work in the gym and perform just to remind myself that I can still do it."
The women's competition will start this Sunday at the aforementioned Bercy Arena, with the qualifying rounds, followed by the team final next Tuesday, before the individual all-around final on Thursday.
Considered the greatest gymnast of all time and a winner of a total of 37 medals, Biles has a remarkable sporting career. By shedding light on the mental health issues affecting athletes, she places her greatest medal on the table: that of showing that another value of an Olympic athlete is not in boasting strengths but in acknowledging one's vulnerabilities.