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Simone Biles exclusive on mental health: What a difference three years make

Three years ago, superstar gymnast Simone Biles sparked a global conversation around mental health in sports when she chose to withdraw from the women’s team final at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and four subsequent individual finals to prioritise her mental health as she dealt with the now-infamous ‘twisties.’

That decision wasn’t easy.

Biles was upfront about the pain she felt having to set aside her dreams and all the work that had gone into it.

“Working five years for a dream and just having to give it up, it was not easy at all,” she told NBC’s Hoda Kotb at the time.

Looking back, Biles admits that even taking the first steps on her mental health journey, which became a huge part of her path to winning three golds and a silver medal at the Paris Games, was a struggle.

“In the beginning, I think the hardest part is logging on to my therapy sessions and convincing myself to go,” Biles told Olympics.com in an exclusive interview last month. “But as soon as I see my therapist and we start talking, it’s like I’m yapping the whole time. I’m so grateful for that.”

Biles’ impact on others

So, too, are many of her peers, including fellow Olympic gold medallist Jade Carey.

“I think after Tokyo and Simone using her voice about mental health and how we need to take care of ourselves, it really made us all kind of take a step back and realise that we’re not just robots out there in gymnastics,” she told us. “We have minds that we have to take care of as well.

“She not only inspired me,” continued Carey, “but I know she inspired so many others just to seek help, talk to someone, because it’s not easy to do on your own.”

“Having Simone come forward and use her platform in Tokyo I think was really powerful,” she said. “As athletes, I think we’re just looked at as kind of like machines or you can handle anything or you should be able to handle anything, or no matter what it is, you’re going to push through it. And we work really, really hard, but we are humans and we need to take care of ourselves first and foremost.

“I think you’re seeing that come more to the forefront of sport,” Black concluded.

Carey, Chiles put it into practice

A frustrating 2023 season for Carey, which saw her miss out on a trip to the 2023 World Championships, saw her lean into what teammate Biles had been preaching.

“I had a pretty tough year before the Olympics,” explained Carey. “So, just being able to talk to someone and figure it out and have an extra person in my corner to lean on was really helpful.”

The Tokyo 2020 floor and Paris 2024 team Olympic champion says her natural instinct had always been to keep much of her emotions inside, but in recent years, she’s seen the benefits of putting mental health as a priority.

Similarly, fellow Olympic team champion Jordan Chiles says as a youngster sports psychology didn’t quite click.

“I did try a sports psychologist when I was younger, but since you have that young mindset, you’re like, ‘No, I can do everything on my own. I’m fine,’” said Chiles. “[Now], I do say, ‘Find somebody you can talk to…, somebody you can lean on.’”

It’s part of an evolution that Biles says she’s also experienced in recent years.

“I wish I knew pre-Tokyo that everybody’s mental health journey is different; yours may not look like your friends’ or your spouse’s or whatever,” said Biles. “Everyone’s mental health journey is different and unique.”

Thanks to Biles and company, everyone else can know that, too.