I learned how courageous and how strong I was”- When Simone Biles opened up about the aftermath of her Olympic withdrawal
Simone Biles once opened up about her withdrawal from the Tokyo Olympics. After her withdrawal, the American athlete shared that she realized that the decision took a lot of courage to take a step back from such a major competition to take her stand for herself.

The American participated in her second consecutive Olympics in Tokyo, and her appearance raised a lot of anticipation among fans to witness her compete against some of the best gymnasts in the world. However, her journey was cut short as she withdrew from the entire quadrennial games before the team finals.

Simone Biles shared that she primarily withdrew from the Olympics due to ‘twisties’, a condition that causes gymnasts to lose spatial awareness during aerial maneuvers. Her withdrawal brought about some backlash on social media, and the gymnast opened up about the aftermath of her decision in an interview with Good Housekeeping in May 2022.

The American athlete shared that she reflected on her decision after the Olympics and realized that it was a symbol of her inner strength for being able to take a step to protect her mental health.

“I learned how courageous and how strong I was. It truly takes some strength to acknowledge that it’s okay to not be okay, and to take a step back to protect your mental and wellbeing. That’s what I did,” she said.