In a heartbeat, Simone Biles’ dreams of Olympic glory in Tokyo came crashing down. As she soared through the air, her world spun out of control – she lost her sense of spatial awareness, a terrifying phenomenon known as the “twisties.” With her safety at risk, Biles made the courageous decision to withdraw from the Tokyo Olympics, sacrificing her quest for another gold medal. But her journey didn’t end there.

After a grueling rehabilitation process, Biles slowly regained her footing. But as she did so and was slowly overcoming her mental block, she also had to overcome some harsh criticism. As many called her out for “quitting” because of bad performances, Biles hit back at them, writing, “For anyone saying I quit, I didn’t quit. My mind & body are simply not in sync. I don’t think you realize how dangerous this is on hard/competition surface nor do I have to explain why I put health first.” It was this danger that even an unexpected ally in Brody Malone used to back Biles’ decision.

Fellow gymnast Brody Malone’s recent 85.95 on the first night of the US Gymnastics Championships has made his fans go wild. However, stepping aside from his on-field action, Malone recently spoke about Simone Biles. During an appearance on the Last In Line Leadership podcast, he was asked about the “twisties” and just what Biles may have been going through while deciding to withdraw. Not only did he reveal why her choice was understandable but also why it was the right call, shedding light on the often-overlooked dangers gymnasts face daily.

“We train our whole lives to be able to know where we are in the air. It’s called air awareness,” Brody Malone explained. Adding the effects of having the “twisties,” he added, “Usually when we’re doing skills like that [involving] flipping and twisting, you have a relative idea of where you are in the air, so you know where to land. And [with] the ‘twisties,’ you just get lost. You don’t really know where you are in the air, so you lose pretty much all of the air awareness, and that can be very dangerous.” That’s precisely what happened to Simone Biles, and Malone watched it happen first-hand.

Sitting on the sidelines, supporting the US women’s team in Tokyo, Malone revealed, “In her case, I watched her warm up her vault for team finals. She does a one-and-a-half and bails out. It was kind of obvious that she was getting lost in the air. When she did the same thing in the competition, I was like, ‘Okay, that kind of solidifies it. She definitely is a little bit lost. She’s got the twisties.’” Gymnastics is dangerous as it is. But when the mind and body aren’t in sync, it is all the more dangerous. Because of that…

“Taking herself out at that moment was probably the right thing to do for her team because if she didn’t know where she was in the air, she’s putting herself at risk of injury if she’s getting lost in the air and doesn’t know where she’s going to land.” Bringing in what was at stake not just for her but also for the team, Malone said, “In a team competition like that, you can’t really afford to have mis-lands. So I think taking herself out was the right call from a safety standpoint and from a team standpoint.”

Malone justified his statement by pointing out that continuing with such complications would result in serious injuries. He also opined that not being 100% fit is something that would harm her team negatively as well. While she has received significant support, it seems Biles has already chalked her redemption plan. 

Simone Biles’ stupendous comeback

Simone Biles made her comeback to competitive gymnastics at the 2023 World Championships in Belgium. Displaying spectacular routines, Biles clinched four gold medals to establish her dominance over the others. Opening her season this year, Simone Biles won the Core Hydration Classics as well to give out a powerful statement ahead of the upcoming Olympics. 

Biles, looking to grab all the limelight in Paris, is training hard for her dreams. Meanwhile, her main aim will be to wipe the nightmarish memories of Tokyo off her ledger. Speaking with Olympics.com in 2023, Biles opened up about her approach going forward. She said, “I think I have to take care of myself a little bit more and listen to my body and making sure that I’m making time for the important things in my life rather than before.” Thus, with things looking bright, it remains to be seen how Simone Biles delivers on her D-day.