Simone Biles on Olympic emotions: “You’re at such a high and you don’t really get to release until afterwards” - Exclusive
The superstar shares how watching the finale episodes of Netflix’s Simone Biles: Rising, out Friday (25 October), gave her the emotional release she didn’t get at Paris 2024.
Artistic Gymnastics
Two months ago, Simone Biles made artistic gymnastics history at Paris 2024, becoming the first woman ever to win two non-consecutive all-around crowns at the Olympic Games.
From Friday (24 October), fans can get an in-depth look at her journey, with the launch of the second half of the Netflix series Simone Biles: Rising.
The documentary episodes, produced in collaboration with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), sparked an emotional response from the gymnast herself when she was given a preview screening.
“I was focused so much on the Olympics that whenever I watched it back, that was kind of the release that I had,” Biles told Olympics.com on the red carpet of her Hollywood premiere Wednesday (23 October). “I think it’s just the emotions after the Olympics – you’re at such a high and you don’t really get to release until afterwards.”
In Paris, the 27-year-old was stoic and celebratory. But she admits there was more going on under the surface.
“I felt like I held a good attitude and everything [at the Games],” Biles told us. “There was a lot on the line for me personally because I had a lot to prove to myself, but once that was over, I felt really free.”
Rising captures her historic journey, including perspectives from her inner circle, such as her parents, Ron and Nellie, and her husband, Jonathan Owens.
The finale episode of the series focuses on Biles’ all-around triumph.
Her family takes centre stage, playing a crucial role in calming the superstar gymnast when she found herself locked in a tight battle with Brazilian Rebeca Andrade after a mistake on the uneven bars.
“I feel like it takes a village to succeed,” Biles said after the premiere screening in a Q&A with Scott Evans, host of Access Hollywood. “Once I’m standing up there, I feel like we’ve all done it together. It’s literally a village.”
Biles’ history-making run in Paris came three years after she had to withdraw from the women’s team final and four subsequent individual finals at Tokyo 2020 in 2021, prioritizing her mental health as she dealt with the ‘twisties,’ where a gymnast’s body and mind fall out of sync.
Online, the American dealt with an onslaught of critics saying she had quit or worse.
“No, I think the work speaks for itself,” said Biles when we asked if she had a message for those commenters.
In the same way that Biles’ results speak for themselves, so, too, does her Hollywood premiere speak to the way she’s put her sport on the map.
“She’s taken a sport that really was a fan favourite every four years and has kind of mainstreamed it,” said 2008 Olympic all-around champion Nastia Liukin, who was also in attendance at the premiere. “I mean, we’re at a premiere, in Hollywood, for a documentary series that is about her and the sport. That speaks volumes.”
Despite her outsized impact, Biles hopes that Rising shows fans her human side in a way that may not come across as easily while she’s out on the balance beam collecting medals.
“[I hope that people see] that I’m normal, that I’m human, I have feelings,” she said. “I get vulnerable, and I go through things, too. I just do things that are amazing inside the gym.”