Simone Biles Tells Cosmo How Taking Care of Her Mental Health Made Her 2024 Olympics Run Possible

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Update: This just in: Simone Biles just broke *another* record at the All-Around gymnastics final, becoming the first American gymnast to ever win the event twice. Per NBC News, she’s also the oldest to win the gold in the event since 1952 (!). With her floor routine to Taylor Swift’s “...Ready for It?” she took home the gold and beat out silver medalist Rebeca Andrade by a 1.100 margin. Say it with me: LIVING LEGEND!

During the post-competition media Q&A, Simone got candid about how taking care of her mental health has helped her rise to the Olympic occasion.

“Always, I try to have fun. And what’s so crazy is a couple years ago before Tokyo, I had been so blessed with the career that I had. Leading up to Tokyo, I was so nervous about getting injured physically that I kind of neglected my mental health,” Simone said, according to Cosmopolitan’s Olympics correspondent Kristy Alpert. “I put that on the back burner and then I was injured, except it was mental injury. I think that was almost harder than physical because whenever you go to the doctor and you have a physical injury, they tell you, ‘Three to six weeks, three to six months’—all of that stuff.”

The all-star Olympian credits therapy to helping her get into a healthier space.

“I’ve been in therapy religiously every Thursday and now whenever I need it—whenever I’m at big competitions. So to just keep that up and just to see where I’ve grown even from Tokyo and even from the 19-year-old from Rio is so amazing. I’m really proud of the work that she’s put in because I never thought I would be on another world stage competing. So I’m proud of Simone for never giving up.”

Original article:

Simone Biles is officially back, baby! The most decorated gymnast of all time just became more decorated thanks to her gold-medal team win at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Simone and her USA teammates Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, Suni Lee, and Hezly Rivera have won the women’s gymnastics team event, recapturing a gold medal after earning silver during the last Olympics. This means Simone is officially the most decorated U.S. Olympic gymnast ever.

Absolutely love this for her! This is Simone’s eighth medal in three Olympic Games. She previously tied with Shannon Miller for most medals, but she already had the record for most golds. (Simone has now won a total of five gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals.)

Her triumphant return marks her third time competing in the Olympics. The athlete withdrew from the individual All-Around gymnastics competition at the 2020 Tokyo Games to prioritize her mental health. “Once I came out here [to compete], I was like, ‘No, mental is not there, so I just need to let the girls do it and focus on myself,’” Simone said at the time, per ESPN. After training and taking some time for herself over the years, she’s back and won the gold in the team event at the Paris Games.

That’s not all—Simone is also set to compete at the following tournaments during the Olympics:

• Event Finals Day 1 (Women’s Vault): Saturday, August 3

• Event Finals Day 2 (Women’s Uneven Bars): Sunday, August 4

• Event Finals Day 3 (Women’s Balances Beam and Floor Exercise): Monday, August 5

Oh, and just so you don’t miss the next time she casually makes history, here’s how you can watch:

Additional reporting by Kristy Alpert

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