Given the superstar status and undeniable talent of Simone Biles, it’s small wonder that she was one of the most anticipated athletes at this year’s Olympic Games in Paris.
Deemed by many to be the greatest gymnast of all time, the 27-year-old Biles added another four medals to her haul (three golds and one silver), and nicely tied a bow on the comeback story that began with her struggles four years ago in Tokyo.
Some readers will be aware of the seemingly sudden issues that struck Biles at the last Olympics, when she developed the so-called “Twisties”, where a gymnast essentially experiences a disconnect between their brain and body.
Ultimately she was forced to pull out of Tokyo, and Biles herself has admitted she thought her career was over. Yet the icon was able to rally in time for Paris, 2024, even if she entered the competition with a considerable weight on her shoulders.
Indeed, Simone might be most commonly associated with overwhelming success and near-flawless routines, but she’s not impervious to pressure.
One can only imagine the inner calm needed to be able to deliver time and again when you’re considered the best that’s ever been, particularly after having had a period of self-doubt and turmoil on a global stage.
As such, heading into this year’s Paris Olympics, Biles would surely be forgiven for tackling the expectation and pressure in any manner she saw fit. And yet there were people ready to criticize her for opting not to eat with other athletes in the Olympic Village, preferring apparently to retreat to the privacy of her own room.
Of course, Biles had a very good reason for doing so (not that she’s under any pressure to explain herself)…
Given how she’s fared in competition over the past two weeks, Biles’ struggles at the Tokyo Olympics seem a nightmare from a long distant past. That said, there was a time, and not at all that long ago, that it looked as though the diminutive star might never compete again.
Four years ago, in the midst of the Games, Biles was at the mercy of the dreaded “Twisties”, leaving her unable to safely perform any of her gravity-defying (and unquestionably perilous) feats.
“‘I’m fighting demons. I’m fighting demons right now, but I’m going to do it for you guys,’” she remembered telling her teammates at the time. Biles opted to push through, though it soon became apparent that she was in no fit state to be attempting her routine.
“I thought I was going to be banned from America. Because that’s what they tell you, ‘Don’t come back if it’s not gold,’” she later shared.
Ultimately Biles wisely withdrew from competition, and the athlete herself was unsure whether she’d ever represent her country on the international stage again. She took the necessary time to recover, before returning with aplomb to take home four medals in Paris this year.
Though while the French capital gave her the ideal opportunity to sign off in a manner befitting her legacy – if indeed that was her Olympic swansong – her sheer star power and fame presented problems of their own.
As per reports, Paris was under increasing scrutiny after athletes began to complain about the conditions they were exposed to at the Olympic Village. And amidst the criticisms, Biles herself took to TikTok to reveal that she had stopped eating at the Olympic Village as she was bombarded with people wanting to take pictures with her whenever she sat down.
“Whenever I sat down to eat, my anxiety was so bad, I was shaking. And I couldn’t stop shaking and I was so overwhelmed,” she explained.
Instead, Biles opted to remain in her room and eat food bought at a grocery store, an act that sparked the sharing of plenty of opinions online.
“Anxiety is terrible. I suffer from it really bad. I’m so glad hers is under control enough that she got to stay focused and participate in the Olympics,” one person wrote.
Another chimed: “I don’t blame her. […] Every little thing she does and doesn’t do is being scrutinized through a fine-toothed comb.”
Yet there were others who were less understanding of Biles predicament.
“She’s stuck up,” one person insisted.
“[She] doesn’t eat with the peasants lol,” another added.
“That’s a really silly reason,” a third wrote of Biles’ decision.