Simone Biles 'Refused' to Be Called a 'Quitter' After Paris Injury
After pulling her calf muscle during the 2024 Paris Olympics, Simone Biles powered through her routine determined not to let it defeat her.
Simone, 27, detailed the moment she injured her calf during the floor exercise warms up, which occurred on July 28, in a teaser of part 2 of the gymnast’s Netflix documentary, Simone Biles Rising. Even though she told her coach that her calf “pulled, like, all the way,” the Ohio native delivered an outstanding performance in her routine and went on to win the silver medal in the floor exercise final.
“After the competition, I asked, ‘How did you do it in so much pain?’” former Team U.S.A. gymnast Aly Raisman revealed in the documentary. “And she said, ‘I couldn’t have people tell me I was a quitter again.’”
After the 2024 Paris Games, Simone wore a walking boot for “precautionary” reasons as she prepared to participate in the “Gold Over America Tour,” which visited 30 arenas across the U.S. following the Olympics.
“Calf is good. It’s just precautionary, making sure, because we still have tour after this to heal up and all of that stuff,” she told NBC on August 6. “So, just a little bit of soreness.”
The injury marked the second time Simone struggled with health issues while competing in the Olympic games. She did not compete in four major events while participating in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. After stumbling during warms ups, she explained during part 1 of her documentary that she knew things were going to be “bad bad.” During the event, she didn’t complete the required twists during the vault and had a rough landing while in competition for the individual all-around.
“If I could’ve ran out of that stadium, I would have,” Simone confessed in a video posted hours after the event, eventually withdrawing from the event.
“After further medical evaluation, Simone Biles has withdrawn from the final individual all-around competition at the Tokyo Olympic Games, in order to focus on her mental health,” a statement from the sport’s governing body read on July 27, 2021. “We wholeheartedly support Simone’s decision and applaud her bravery in prioritizing her well-being. Her courage shows, yet again, why she is a role model for so many.”
She went on to withdraw from competing in the uneven bars, vault and individual floor exercise. The four-time gold medalist later confirmed that she was suffering from the “twisties” via a social media post on July 30, 2021. The “twisties” is a condition where an athlete loses awareness while they are in mid-air, usually due to a mental block, and it makes it incredibly difficult to land safely.
“I can’t even fathom twisting,” she shared via Instagram at the time. “I seriously cannot comprehend how to twist. Strangest and weirdest thing as well as feeling.”
Simone later made her comeback during the balance beam final, where she took home the bronze medal on August 3, 2021, in a scaled-down version of her highly difficult routine.
“I never thought I was going to be competing again after Tokyo,” Simone explained during part 1 of the docuseries, which premiered in July. “I had to fight demons, day in and day out in training. I really have to prove to myself that I can do this. I get to write my own ending.”
The professional athlete pursued redemption at the 2024 Paris Games, winning three gold medals in the all-around, floor, and team events, bringing her total medals to four for the competition.
“I never want to look back in 10 years and say, ‘Oh, what if I could’ve done another Olympic cycle or at least tried?’” she explained in the docuseries. “I didn’t want to be afraid of the sport anymore.”
Simone Biles Rising part 2 premieres on Netflix on October 25.