The 28-year-old gymnast, who secured three gold medals and one silver during last year’s event, recently revealed the impact the competition had on her body—and how she felt by the end of the games.
“I went back to the village, took the elevator and my body literally collapsed,” Simone told L’Equipe, the Associated Press’ French sports outlet, in an interview published on April 21. “I was sick for 10 days.”
She noted her preparation for the Olympics took a toll on her physical health, so she decided to fly back to Chicago—where she and husband Jonathan Owens, 29, live—for a week. And though she got some well-deserved rest at the time, it seems her body is still learning how to heal nearly a year later.
“The other day, we were sprinting in the garden with friends,” she recalled. “I had aches and pains for three days.”
This isn’t the first time the gymnast has suffered pain while in competition mode, as she experienced the “twisties” during the 2021 Tokyo Games. And with her becoming more mindful of the demands the sport puts on her body, Simone is still unsure if she’ll compete in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
“A lot of people think it’s just a one-year commitment, but it truly is the four years leading up to the Olympics,” the athlete continued. “If I’m going to compete again, I’m not so sure.”
However, that doesn’t mean she won’t be keeping up with the gymnastic fun.
Simone revealed that she’ll attend the Olympics, regardless of whether she’ll be “in the stands” or sharpening her skills on the vault. But in the meantime, the gold medalist is focusing on her most important goal: to find happiness outside of her career.
“I’m really trying to enjoy life, spend time with my husband [and] go support him at his games, and live my life as a woman,” she explained. “I’ve accomplished so much in my sport. For me to come back, it would really have to excite me.”
Simone—who has 11 Olympic medals under her belt—echoed this sentiment in January, when she reflected on her historic achievements.
“Because I’ve accomplished so much, there’s almost nothing left to do,” she told Sports Illustrated at the time. “Rather than to just be snobby and to try again and for what? I’m at a point in my career where I’m humble enough to know when to be done.”
Simone Biles first stunned the world during her participation in the 2013 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Belgium.
There, she qualified first in the all-around, second to the vault final, sixth to the uneven bars final, fifth to the balance beam final and first to the floor final, which made her the first American gymnast to qualify to the all-around and all four event finals since 1991. At just 16 years old, Biles became the first Black and seventh American woman to win the world all-around title.
Believe or not, the young athlete has four (!) gymnastic moves named after her.
SOURCE: eonline.com