Simone Biles Overcome With Emotion After Finishing Competing At The 2024 Paris Olympics
Simone Biles finished off competing at the summer Olympics in tears after her and her teammates dominated the games once again as they represented the United States of America. The 27-year-old sports icon secured four medals during this year’s Games; three gold and one silver.
Biles had been calling this year’s Summer Olympic Games her “Redemption Tour,” after she took a break from the sport when experiencing the “twisties” and struggles with her mental health. Her “tour” truly did not disappoint as she led the US Women’s Gymnastic team to a team gold medal after they took silver at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Biles ended her stint at this year’s Olympic games on Monday after she won silver in the women’s floor exercise final.
The 11-time Olympic medalist told NBC’s Today Show that the reality of this past Olympics hasn’t really sunk in yet.
“I don’t think I will until one day I decide to retire. But yesterday once we got back to the village I looked at Jordan [Chiles] and just started bawling my eyes out, and she was like ‘I knew it was gonna happen I just didn’t know when,’” she said.
“I think I was just so full of emotion and I finally released all of that. I was so proud, happy, bittersweet that the journey’s over. It’s so crazy, it happened too quickly. My third Olympics!”
When it comes to her future in the sport, and her career overall, Biles takes the “never say never” approach.
“You know, you never say never. The next Olympics is on home turf. I’m just going to relax and see where life takes me,” she said, referring to the 2028 Summer Olympic Games set to take place in Los Angeles, California.
Biles then took a moment to reflect on her momentous career and how her upbringing shaped the strong individual we know and love today: “If not for my parents and adoption I wouldn’t be here today.” Biles’ parents, Ronald and Nellie, adopted both Biles and her younger sister Adria when she was 6-years-old.
While speaking with NBC, Biles was wearing a boot on her leg, noting that she experienced a calf injury during the Games that has been acting up recently.
“Right now it’s [the boot] just precautionary. We’re resting up as much as possible, we have a tour in a couple of weeks. I’m just going to rest and heal,” she said.
In the future, Biles is looking forward to leading a life of normalcy, and potentially starting a family. She discussed her husband Jonathan Owens who was seen during the Olympics cheering for his wife:
“He was so excited. He was more excited to pin trade. Obviously, he loved seeing me complete. He was still keeping score. For him, it meant the world to him because he’s seen the amount of hours that I’ve put in. So to actually see in person he was like, ‘Wow, this is amazing’ and he was just so excited to be there.”
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.