Simone Biles just made an epic comeback and medaled on balance beam after stepping away
from the Olympic competition to focus on her mental health.
Let’s get into how she feels about her win and what she has to say to the people who
called her a quitter.
As fans know, Simone Biles, the gymnastics GOAT, had to sit out of several events at
the Tokyo Olympics.
She took the step back to prioritize her mental health as she was dealing with a mental block
gymnasts refer to as “the twisties.”
These can be extremely dangerous as Simone explained that she ‘“literally couldn’t
tell up from down.”
This is something Simone has dealt with in the past, but on her IG stories earlier this
week, she explained that she’s never suffered from getting “lost in the air” on all
four gymnastics apparatuses.
Despite her mental health struggles, Simone remained in Tokyo and cheered on every single
one of her teammates from the stands.
And while she dropped out of one event at a time, there was still hope for her to compete
in the very last event, the balance beam final.
Fellow Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez revealed to Today that the “twisties” are less
of a risk on balance beam compared to other apparatuses.
Laurie explained that “For starters, it is upright.
When you are on bars, you are swinging upside down consistently."
Olympic silver medalist MyKayla Skinner also chimed in adding that on “Beam, you're not
really doing much twisting things — it's more just skills.
She's been able to work a double pike and try different things, so I think she's going
to go for that.
So no twisties for her, hopefully.”
And so, Simone decided to compete in the final gymnastics event and even after a tough week,
she landed an impressive double pike dismount and racked up a score of 14.000.
She shared a special moment with her coach when she realized she earned the bronze medal.
This medal means Simone is officially tied with Shannon Miller as the most decorated
American female Olympic gymnast in HISTORY.
But the best part?
Simone seemed to be having fun out there and had the biggest smile on her face.
That’s what it’s all about!!!
After her win, she spoke to NBC saying quote, “I didn't expect to medal today.
I just wanted to go out there and do this for me and that's exactly what I did.
I'm just proud of myself for coming out here after everything I've gone through.”
She even dedicated her win to Team USA as their love "just meant the world."
But amid all the excitement, Simone still addressed the criticism she’s faced after
withdrawing from many of the Olympic finals.
Simone told Today that “It wasn't an easy decision so it hurts that people were like,
‘Oh she quit or she did this' because I've worked five years for that, why would I quit?
I've been through so much over the past couple years in the sport, like, I just don't quit.
That's not what I do.”
Simone continued on and explained that “At the end of the day, we're not just athletes
or entertainment, we're human too and we have real emotions.
And sometimes, they don't realize we have things going on behind the scenes that affect
us whenever we go out and compete.”
Simone’s mental health struggle was not something that fans "could physically touch
or see," so she admitted it might have been more difficult for people to understand.
But this whole experience has helped Simone realize that quote, “there's more to life
than gymnastics and medals.”
And so what’s next for the GOAT?
She said that she’s going to take some time to let these Olympics sink in and then she’s
excited to tour with her Olympic team.
They are heading to 35 cities around the United States for their Gold Over America tour.
We can’t wait for that and we’re just so glad Simone is ok and won that medal for
HER!
We’re proud of you Simone!
Sending her all of our love and support as she celebrates her bronze medal win!
We would also like to take this opportunity to send a huge congratulations to Jade Carey
for her stunning performance in the floor exercise final yesterday, earning her a gold
medal!
And Suni Lee for her wonderful performance on the uneven bars earning her a bronze medal
on Sunday to add to her tally!
And as always, a major congratulations to the entire Team USA Olympics team on all their
incredible successes!
For more on Simone Biles, click right over here for another Clevver News video.
Also, feel free to send your congrats to Simone and the entire team down in the comments below.
I’m your host Sussan Mourad, you can find me on socials @Sussan_Mourd, bye guys!