Simone Biles is leaving Paris with her head held high, proud of becoming a three-time Olympian and continuing to show the world how dominant she is in gymnastics, and doing it with grace.
At the Games, the 27-year-old collected gold medals in the team, all-around and vault competitions, as well as a silver on the floor exercise.
Reflecting on her Paris experience on Tuesday, the 11-time Olympic medallist told Reuters that while she is still processing the events of the last couple of weeks, she is proud of her determination.
“(I am) just showing my strength through and through and just coming out on top each and every time so I’m just really proud of that,” she said.
Biles, who was 19 when she won four gold medals and a bronze at the Rio Games, has learned a lot about herself in the past eight years, though she was not certain she would ever return to the world stage after the Tokyo Games in 2021, when she withdrew with a potentially dangerous mental block known as the “twisties”.
When asked about the 2024 version of herself, she responded: “A hard worker, dedicated, strong, beautiful, smart.”
Behind the scenes, she plays the role of mentor, praised by teammate Sunisa Lee for being a confidence booster.
“Having (my teammates) there to lean on was absolutely amazing and I wouldn’t have made it through without them,” Lee told Reuters.
But more than a support role for her teammates, Biles hopes to inspire young gymnasts, athletes and even adults to gain confidence and trust in themselves and learn how to handle tough times.
“Never give up, there’s light at the end of the tunnel. I know it’s hard and everybody goes through hard things but you’re going to come out on top,” she said.
Having regularly worked with a therapist since Tokyo, Biles tries to stay lighthearted in her approach to competing on the big stage, and she does not have any pre-competition rituals.
“I’m not very superstitious, (I) just go with the flow,” she said.