Simone Biles, the absolute GOAT of women's gymnastics, just closed out her second Olympics
with a bronze medal on the balance beam.
The Tokyo Olympics might not have turned out the way she thought it would, but she sure
taught the world a lesson about putting your mental health needs before a competition and
medals.
As Biles explained in an interview, per the New York Post,
"My mental and physical health is above all medals that I could ever win."
She also brought up an important discussion on the "twisties" — which is when gymnasts
lose control of their bodies and get lost in the air.
The phenomenon is not only jarring to the gymnast, but it can also lead to catastrophic
injury, according to Live Science.
Biles, who struggled with the twisties at points during the Olympics, proved how strong
of an athlete she is by landing without injuring herself.
Now that the Olympics are over, Biles can turn her attention to her family, which is
important as they have experienced a tragedy.
After Simone Biles performed in her last competition on August 3rd, her coach, Cecile Landi, told
reporters that an aunt on the gymnast's father's side of the family had unexpectedly died.
She shared, per Us Weekly,
"That was another one, I was like, 'Oh my God.
This week needs to be over.'
[...] I asked her what do you need.
And she said, 'I just need some time.'
I said, 'You call me, text me if you need anything I'll be here.
Whatever that is.'
She called her parents.
She said, 'There's nothing I can do from over here.
So I'm just going to finish my week and when I get home we'll deal with it.'"
Biles hasn't addressed the death publicly as of this video, but she did have a message
for Landi and others, captioning a pic with her coach, writing,
"Forever thankful to have such an amazing support system by my side."
Simone Biles was dealing with an unexpected case of the twisties and social media criticism
when she received some bad news from back home.
But she persevered and no one is more impressed than her coach, Cecile Landi, who was a member
of France's gymnastics team at the 1996 Games in Atlanta.
The coach also gave Biles props for being honest about her well-being, stating, per
People,
"I don't think I would have had the guts to say I'm not okay.
I think I would have probably just crashed somewhere, and probably injured myself.
I think for me, she's the first one at a meet at the biggest stage, to say 'I'm not okay.'"
Biles' boyfriend, Jonathan Owens, also gave the star a shoutout after she won the Olympic
bronze medal.
He captioned a series of photos, writing,
"Imma ride with you through whatever baby.
Your strength and courage is unmatched and you inspire me more and more everyday SB."
He also told Biles how much he loved her, and expressed excitement that she would soon
return home.
Clearly, whether it's dealing with a family death or an athletic hurdle, Biles has the
support to keep her spirits lifted.
Throughout the entire ordeal of losing her aunt, Simone Biles has been in constant communication
with her family.
After her balance beam routine on Tuesday, she FaceTimed with her loved ones back in
Texas, telling People,
"They had a little watch party at the house.
It was my mom, my dad, my brother, my sister-in-law, my godparents.
[...] They just wanted to say hi and stuff like that ... Almost every day I've gotten
to talk to them."
It's safe to assume that connection to her family across the world helped Biles deal
with the unexpected death of her aunt.
Of course, there's a good chance Biles would have preferred to avoid all of those tough
moments at the Olympics, but she isn't letting the setbacks get her down.
At a post-competition press interview, Biles told reporters she wouldn't change a thing
about the experience, saying,
"We have to focus on ourselves as humans.
We lost touch of our human feelings sometimes.
... I did this for me and me only."
So what's next for Biles?
That remains unclear as of this video, but whatever she does, it's safe to say she'll
give it her all.
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