In Tokyo, mental health got the best of Simone Biles, and many people blasted her for pulling out of the all-around competition after developing a case of the twisties.
Biles ultimately withdrew from several events and did not add any gold medals to her tally.
Although she went on to claim a silver medal after the rest of the team did enough to secure second place, she took major heat for apparently abandoning her team.
In 2024, Simone Biles was back in a huge way.
Simone Biles won her sixth Olympic gold medal, and her second in the Paris Games as she captured the women’s all-around title for the second time.
The 27-year-old returned to the summit of world gymnastics eight years after winning her first Olympic all-around title in Rio, and she did so to become the only third woman in history to earn the sport’s most prestigious title more than once.
After her accomplishments, Simone Biles took to social media, posting a picture of herself seemingly meditating and accompanying it with a simple but powerful message.
“mental health matters,” Biles captioned the post.
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A once-in-a-lifetime athlete like Biles doesn’t come around very much, especially at her age.
Biles also became the oldest women’s all-around Olympic champion since the Soviet Union’s Maria Gorokhovskaya, who won the gold back in the 1959s at age 30.
Will Simone Biles Return To Olympics At Age 31?
Simone Biles entered the 2024 Olympics looking to further her resume as the greatest gymnast of all time, and she accomplished that feat.
It doesn’t appear that the 27-year-old Biles is slowing down, but her age is typically considered an older age for a gymnast.
It has led many to wonder whether 2024 would be Biles’ last Olympics.
Biles hasn’t yet announced whether she is planning to participate in the 2028 Olympics, but if she does, she will be 31-years-old.
“I would never say never, and I think that would be amazing to (do this) after every Olympic cycle,” Biles said, in reference to her post-Olympics Gold Over America Tour. “I think that would be a beautiful thing, she said in an interview with the Associated Press.
“But right now I can’t tell you yes or no. Like no definitive answers because I don’t know what life will look like in the next few years to come.”
