“Couldn’t Break Down”: Simone Biles Had to Suppress Tokyo Twisties Trauma for Nation

The advent of champions like Simone Biles has lifted gymnastics to an honored spot in the Olympic canon. However, do the athletes themselves get the same honor? Simone Biles experienced reality and pressure during the 2022 Tokyo Olympics when she experienced the “twisties.” A condition in which gymnasts suddenly struggle with spins or lose coordination between mind and body mid-air.

As she prepares for her third Olympic Trials in June, Simone Biles openly explained the intense pressure she suppressed beyond the mat during the Tokyo Olympics.

Simone Biles sheds light on athletic pressure

In a recent episode of Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast on Spotify, Biles discussed the toll of concealing her struggles during the Tokyo Summer Olympics. Despite emotional anguish, she maintained a cool demeanor, even when faced with media duties. Biles described the emotional pressure, saying, “As soon as we landed in Houston again, there was at the gate, so many cameras. So I still had to put on a face. I couldn’t break down. But I hugged my mom and I just like felt comforted. But I couldn’t break down until we got home.”

The four-time Olympic gold medalist discussed the emotional and physical exhaustion she felt at the time. Biles explained, “I was mentally, physically exhausted, drained. I have nothing left and I can’t put on a face anymore. Like I physically could not wait to land in Houston.” She also posted a video(later deleted) showing how she failed to perform a dismount on the uneven bars during training; coming up full one swing short.

Gymnasts use basic physics to perform gravity-defying routines, but perfecting their movements’ exact timing and control is critical for peak performance. Despite winning bronze in the balance beam and team silver in Tokyo, Biles chose to take a long break from gymnastics after the Tokyo Olympics to recover and prioritize her health. But this incident also raised some questions among normal people about the tumble constraints.

How long can twisties affect?

Simone Biles’ experiencing the “twisties” during the Tokyo Olympics was not an unusual incident; she had grappled with them before performing gymnastics. What made the Tokyo Games different was the ubiquitous nature of the twisties, which affected her across numerous disciplines, including bars and beams. Biles expressed her frustration dealing with it saying, “It’s honestly petrifying…trying to do a skill but not having your mind and body in sync.”

While the form and duration of twisties vary from athlete to athlete, Biles’s lasted more than two weeks, having a substantial influence on her training and performance. Despite being a seasoned gymnast, the unpredictable nature of the twisties highlights the vulnerability of even the most successful athletes’ mental and physical health.