“Blindsided” Simone Biles Stunned Over How Her Comeback Season Played Out

Sometimes, flying too close to the sun can get your wings burned. America’s most decorated gymnast of all time Simone Biles experienced her own Icarus moment at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when “the twisties” forced her to opt out of the women’s gymnastics final event. Since then, Biles has come a long way. As she prepares for another Olympic Games, fans will remember that her comeback wasn’t a smooth sail. In a recent social media post, Simone talked about the trembling heart she had to keep hold of while making her comeback last year after the hiatus.

In the post by Laureus on X, Biles stated, “…my standout moments from 2023, if I had to describe it, it would be “unpredictable.”” She said that she didn’t have plans of competing that year, especially with the Tokyo incident still fresh in her mind. On top of that, Biles is a stern planner who likes to mentally chalk out every detail of her life and career, and going into the new season without any prior thoughts about it made her heart quiver with anticipation.

To keep things less pressurizing, Simone confessed her focus was to get back some of her skills first. “And then I ended up competing, which I didn’t plan to, and I’m very big on planning – everything is a set schedule for me“, revealed the 27-year-old. Therefore, according to Simone, “going into a year kind of blindsided was a little bit nice” for her. It gave her the freedom to let things find their own course.

After the incident at the last Games, Biles stayed out of competition for a considerable time, only to return to action in 2023. And what a comeback it was! At the 2023 World Championships, Biles won five medals (four of them gold) to firmly announce her intentions of reclaiming her throne. Considering the fact that the feat took place in Antwerp, the very place where she turned heads ten years ago, made things even more formidable.

Simone Biles’ long journey back to the top

Biles’ tryst with mental health has been a long one. Apart from her troubles during the last Olympics, the entire incident with former US national gymnastics team coach Larry Nassar had left Simone and several of her colleagues traumatized by the experience that they had to go through. Having gone past such horrid moments in her life, Biles has taken a firm stand to advocate for athletes’ mental health. Ahead of last year’s World Championships, the four-time Olympic gold medalist noted that having faith in one’s own self is the key for anyone to continuously perform at the highest levels.

However, with Jonathan Owens by her side, Simone has come out of her shell in style in recent months. The Chicago Bears star never fails to support Biles’ endeavors despite both of them having thigh professional schedules. As the Texas native looks forward to securing her spot as a member of the national team for the upcoming Paris Olympics and touching bases all over the country for the Gold Over America Tour, it waits to be seen if her mental ordeals are now a thing of the past.