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Louise Thomas
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Simone Biles has revealed that therapy played a major role in her preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The 27-year-old athlete made history on Tuesday when she became the most decorated American gymnast, after the women’s US gymnastics team scored gold during the all-around finals. The victory marked a comeback for Biles, who had withdrawn from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics due to her mental health.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday after Team USA’s stunning performance, Biles detailed the positive impact that going to therapy right before the competition had on her gold medal-winning performance. “At the beginning of the day, I started off with therapy this morning so that was super exciting. And then I told her I was feeling calm and ready,” Biles told reporters in Paris, according to CNN. “And that’s kind of exactly what happened.”
“After I finished vault, I was relieved. I was like: ‘Wooo, because please, no flashbacks or anything,’” Biles recalled. “But I did feel a lot of relief. And as soon as I landed vault, I was like: ‘Oh, yeah, I’m definitely [okay], we’re gonna do this.’”
Before she arrived in France for this year’s summer Olympics, Biles also spoke with Today co-anchor Hoda Kotb about the importance of incorporating therapy into her daily routine.
“You don’t bury things anymore. You speak them out loud. You talk about therapy, where you are, where you’re going. Tell me about this part of you,” Kotb said during an episode of her podcast, Making Space with Hoda Kotb, released on July 31.
“I’ve always tried to stay authentic to myself, so I feel like the new me, I’m a little bit older, more mature, so just being unapologetically me,” the gymnast said. Kotb then explained how many people tend to bury their feelings in order to “appear stronger,” which is ultimately “the worst idea.”
As she asked if Biles felt different now that she’s been open with her mental health journey, the Olympian replied: “I feel a lot more free, especially going to therapy and doing those sessions so that physically and mentally I feel better, and I know that’s an important part of my routine. So just staying on top of that, it lightens the load a lot.”
The professional athlete went on to credit therapy as helping her overcome her “trauma,” most notably after publicly revealing she was sexually abused by Team USA’s former gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. In 2018, Nassar was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison after pleading guilty to seven counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and possession of child pornography.
“I think, before, I was pushing down my trauma, and now I’ve learned to speak on it and kind of release that,” Biles said during the podcast, before adding: “I think we used to think of therapy as a weakness, and now I think of it as a strength. And if there’s somebody that can help me deal with what I’m going through, then that’s what I need to do. And now it’s a daily part of my routine.”
In 2021, Biles pulled out of the women’s all-around gymnastics competition at the Tokyo Olympics to focus on her mental health, after suffering from a condition known as the “twisties”. The phenomenon, typically experienced by gymnasts, involves losing control mid-air and feeling unable to land the move, creating a high-risk and dangerous situation. Biles has previously described the twisties as being “lost in the air,” likening the uncomfortable experience to being unable to drive while at the wheel in a car.
In addition to Biles, Team USA gymnasts Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee, Hezly Rivera, and Jade Carey posed for cameras at the Bercy Arena with their gold medals. The US women’s gymnastics team finished with a score of 171.296, nearly six points ahead of runner-up Italy – who took home the silver medal. Meanwhile, Brazil finished in third place with the bronze medal.
Biles is set to return to Bercy Arena on Thursday, August 1, for the women’s all-around individual finals, alongside Lee.
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