Olympic hero Biles says everything came to a head in Tokyo
US gymnastics icon Simone Biles said on Monday she should have quit “way before Tokyo” but held onto her Olympic dream even though it took a heavy emotional toll on her wellbeing.
The 24-year-old Biles was expected to dominate at the Tokyo Games but instead caused a sensation by pulling out of the opening event of the women’s gymnastics competition after being plagued by an attack of the “twisties”.
“If you look at everything I have gone through the past seven years,” Biles told New York Magazine in an interview released Monday. “I should have never made another Olympic team. I should have quit way before Tokyo.” Biles said mental health concerns that led to her dramatic withdrawal had begun even before she arrived in Japan.