As Simone Biles sprinted down the vault runway at the beginning of the women’s team final of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the eyes of the world followed her every stride. Biles had already compiled an unprecedented, record-breaking career, marking herself as the greatest ever gymnast and pushing the limits of gymnastics far beyond what anyone could have imagined. Her combination of technique, air-awareness and power had driven her to unheard of successes; she had not been beaten in an all-around competition since 2013.
But something was wrong. Although the famed Amanar vault is one of the most difficult skills in the world, Biles has made it look easy throughout her career. This time, though, she completed only one-and-a-half twists, a full twist short of the planned vault, before landing in a deep squat as she barely managed to stay on her feet.
Shortly after her mistake, Biles withdrew from the women’s team final and she later expressed the need to protect her mental wellbeing. It soon became clear that this was not merely a mental timeout in the middle of the Olympic Games. Biles was suffering from the Twisties, a mental block that caused the American to lose herself in the air whenever she attempted to twist. In such a dangerous sport, Biles risked seriously injuring herself if she tried to push through.
After withdrawing from all but one final, Biles returned on the final day to clinch a bronze medal with a downgraded routine that did not include her usual twisting. Despite her resilience at the end of the competition, Biles departed Tokyo heartbroken.
The reasons behind the mental struggles in Tokyo were varied, ranging from the nature of the Covid-19 restrictions to the general pressure on Biles, but there was another stressor. Biles was one of hundreds of gymnasts who had been sexually abused by the convicted former team doctor of the US team, Larry Nassar. As the only active gymnast among the survivors of Nassar, she later spoke about how she could not shake the feeling that she carried an immense weight on her shoulders.
In the months after Tokyo, Biles took a break from the gym and it seemed there was a fair chance that the world had seen the last of her. Instead, Biles’s name appeared on a list of participants at a Team USA training camp. Biles had managed to keep her return to training a secret and she left little doubt about her intentions as she dominated her first meet back.
Ten years after winning her first world all-around title in the very same arena, Biles made her global return at the 2023 world championships in Antwerp where she worked through one of the most incredible comebacks in recent years. Biles led the US team to gold and also won the individual all-around, balance beam and floor titles, along with a silver medal on the vault.
With her success, she earned the all-time record for Olympic and world gymnastics medals: 37. Biles has also now added five eponymous skills in the code of points, each of them some of the most difficult elements ever competed.
One of the most incredible aspects of Biles’s comeback is how she has managed to continue improving. With memories of the Twisties still fresh, Biles was hesitant to execute her elaborate twisting vaults so soon into her comeback. Rather than easing her way back into competition with a lesser vault, Biles opted for the most difficult vault imaginable: the Yurchenko double pike. No other woman has ever even come close to competing it yet in Biles case, the few times she has fallen on the skill, it has been because she has too much power.
Biles was still digesting the events of Tokyo last year and she had only a modest amount of training behind her. This year, she returns having gained significant confidence from her success in Antwerp and with another nine months (October to July) of work. No all-around champion has even made it to a third Olympics, yet she returns to the stage performing some of the best gymnastics of her career and looking to make up for the events of three years ago.
