Simone Biles thought 'world is going to hate me' after she left team final at Tokyo Games

[Amber Mera]

"Simone Biles thought 'world is going to hate me' after she left team final at Tokyo Games"

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2024/04/17/simone-biles-tokyo-olympics-twisties/73357960007/

Quote

The four-time Olympic gold medalist revealed what was going through her mind in the 2020 Summer Olympics on an episode of the "Call Her Daddy" podcast posted on Wednesday. When she realized she had the "twisties," best described as when a gymnast can't comprehend what their body is trying to do and is unable to execute moves, Biles thought she would be heavily criticized by her home country.

"If I could have got on a plane and flown home, I would have done it," Biles said. "As soon as I landed (the vault), I was like, 'Oh, America hates me.' The world is going to hate me. And I can only see what they're saying on Twitter right now. That was my first thought.

 

"I thought I was gonna be banned from America. Because that's what they tell you; don't come back. If it's not gold, gold or bust, don't come back."

This sounds, to me, like Simone Biles was beginning to feel overwhelmed and stepped away to avoid a mental break.

[Goldenforce772]

There's a reason I refuse to watch gymnastics when Paris starts. 

[Lucy Bradford]

I think Simone Biles isn't telling the whole story. I think there is more to it.