USA TODAY International Edition
Biles can now see upside to Tokyo postponement
Had the world not been upended by the COVID- 19 pandemic, Simone Biles would be in Tokyo, ready for an Olympics that will be as much a confirmation of her status as the greatest gymnast ever as it is a competition.
Instead, she’s unpacking at her new house and chasing her dogs around a yard that doesn’t yet have a fence.
“Probably for my whole entire life,” Biles said of the last time she’s spent this much time at home. “I actually kind of enjoy it because I get to spend more time with my family, with my dogs. And now with the new house, I have time to unpack. So I’m kind of enjoying it.
“I thought I’d be bored and want to travel,” she added. “But right now, I’m OK. With everything that’s going on right now, the safest place for me is in my house right now.”
When the International Olympic Committee announced in April that the Tokyo Games would be postponed, Biles experienced a range of emotions. She was sad, seeing how the disease had ravaged every part of the globe with no sign of stopping. She was disappointed, having spent the last two- plus years training with the intention that Tokyo would be her last competition.
And she was angry, too, knowing the postponement meant another year of interaction with USA Gymnastics, an organization she will never trust nor forgive because of the abuse she and hundreds of other girls and young women were subjected to by Larry Nassar.
But with her gym shut down and not much else to do, Biles let herself process everything. When her gym reopened in May, Biles was there, ready to take on whatever the next year brings.
“We can only control what we do, which is the training. Put in the hours and just see what happens. Because we don’t know what will happen,” she
“As long as the Olympics goes on still at this point, I don’t care how they do it. If we have to do Zoom meetings from in- home gyms, I don’t care.” Simone Biles
On competing in the 2021 Tokyo Games
said. “It’s kind of hard because it’s a long journey since I’ve been an elite gymnast.
“But I’m ready for one more ride.” Regardless of what organizers need to do to pull the Olympics off. There’s been speculation the Games will have to be scaled back or held without fans because of COVID.
“As long as the Olympics goes on still at this point, I don’t care how they do it,” she said. “If we have to do Zoom meetings from in- home gyms, I don’t care.”
In the meantime, Biles is training and taking steps toward a life after gymnastics.
Take the house. The 23- year- old had owned another one, but it was more suited for a family. More suited for her older brother and his wife, actually. Then Biles saw this house, and everything fell into place. Her brother and his wife moved into her old place, and she just moved into the new one.
So far, the “all the dog stuff, the gym stuff – the main priorities” have been unpacked, as has the kitchen. Now Biles is tackling her closet.
“Moving is such a pain, but I’m really excited,” she said.
Difficult as the Tokyo postponement was, Biles recognizes there is an upside to being in the center of the spotlight for another year.
As she’s gotten older, she’s become more comfortable using her voice to speak up for survivors. While she picks and chooses her spots, she recognizes the power she has and is willing to use it to hold USA Gymnastics and the U. S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee accountable for their failings.
Biles is featured on the current cover of Vogue and, in the accompanying story, spoke more frankly than she ever has about how Nassar’s abuse affected her. After acknowledging she’d been abused, she told Vogue she was “very depressed,” unable to do much more than sleep.
“I said what I felt comfortable with,” Biles said. “I feel like I’m getting older and more mature, so I can be more open about what I talk about. So it was kind of freeing, in a way.”
As for the photos, which were taken by Annie Leibovitz and criticized by some on the internet for not being better lit, Biles said she thought they were “beautiful.”
“They were very raw, real and just in the moment. There were no edits on it or anything,” she said. “That’s why I liked the photos.”
Biles also talked about the Black Lives Matter movement in the Vogue article, specifically the killing of Breonna Taylor, who was at home asleep when she was shot by police who used a noknock warrant to force their way into her apartment.
While Biles said she’s happy white America is recognizing how prevalent systemic racism is, she is incredulous it took the deaths of Taylor, George Floyd and so many others to make that happen.
“It’s actually really shocking how much ( people) either ignore it or do not pay attention to it,” Biles said. “To me, it feels like it’s the privilege of being white. If it’s not happening to you, it doesn’t matter or you’re completely unfazed by it. But I think with the Black Lives Matter movement, you can’t ignore it.”
She hopes it won’t be forgotten, either, as time passes and people’s attention shifts elsewhere.
“I think the ( momentum) will still live on for a really long time, until things change. I feel like there’s hope.”