I’ve grown up watching Simone Biles at the Olympics. I was in high school when she dominated in Rio, I was in grad school when she got the twisties in Tokyo, and I’ve been eagerly anticipating watching the Paris Olympics and her triumphant comeback. Through all of this, I, and many other people, have looked up to her as a role model, and seeing her return to the biggest stage and take home historic gold medals at this year’s games has been empowering. However, what makes these wins even sweeter is knowing how hard she worked for them, which is illustrated in her Netflix documentary Simone Biles: Rising.
Not long before the Paris Olympics began on the 2024 TV schedule, Biles dropped the first two episodes of her docuseries on Netflix. It chronicled what happened in Tokyo and the work she’s put in mentally and physically to get back to peak health and to this year’s Olympics. And I have to tell you, watching it before she won the team, all-around and vault gold medals at the games this year made the wins even better, here’s why:
You’re Taken Back To Tokyo As Simone Biles Explains Why She Couldn’t Compete
The documentary begins by breaking down the Tokyo Olympics in detail. At the finals for the women’s gymnastics team event, Biles famously got the "twisties." I remember at the time that I hadn’t heard of that before, and I quickly learned that it meant she felt like she was losing control and getting lost in the air. The Olympian explained what was going through her mind as she realized this in the documentary, saying:
I knew from that very moment that it wasn’t just like one time and done, because, I feel like you can feel it in your head.
This project was filmed in part during the Tokyo games, and it shows Biles crying after stepping out of the team competition and candidly talking about the twisties and how dangerous they are.
As noted in the docuseries, her family wasn’t able to be there because of COVID, and overall, these games were very odd. Simone’s mother even said they’ve attended all of her competitions, except the Tokyo games. Her mom explained that “this one year, things were beyond our control,” and getting this full picture of just how scary this was for everyone involved clearly illustrates how high the stakes were going into Paris.
Simone Biles Explains Just How Hard And Scary Her Vault Is
You can tell when you watch Biles on vault that what she’s doing is next level, and in this particular case, it's unprecedented. The Yurchenko double pike – which is now named after her and is "the hardest vault in the women's competition," per NBC Chicago – is a move that no other woman does in the sport, because it is that difficult. It’s dangerous, and scary, as the gold medalist said:
It’s scary, and it’s every time you do it you’re scared. Every time I do it I’m like ‘oof, OK, one more time.’
While I'd never think she thought that watching her, it makes total sense. They make a point to emphasize how dangerous the move is and how easy it is to get hurt. So, she followed that up by saying:
Most the time, I’m just trying not to die.
Knowing this as I watched Biles in the individual all-around in Paris upped the anticipation for me, and I could feel myself holding my breath as I watched this:
Obviously, she landed it, and that skill is hers. However, there’s no denying how terrifying it is, you can even see in the video above how relieved she was when she stuck the landing.
Knowing how nervous she was to do this makes the achievement even greater, and it exemplifies how strong she is both physically and mentally.
Simone Biles Walks You Through Her Mental Health Journey And How It Led To Now
If you watch Biles’ interviews, she’ll be the first to explain just how vital her mental health is, and the role therapy plays in her succeeding as an athlete. Even right after she won the all-around in Paris, she didn’t post about it, instead, she posted a photo on Instagram of her with her eyes closed taking deep breaths during the competition, captioning it:
mental health matters
At the heart of this documentary is that sentiment. Of course, her physical abilities and power are vital to her success. However, when it comes to this comeback, her mental health and mental strength seem to serve as a more important pillar in her dominance as an athlete.
Biles is open about the training she did to get her physical strength back up and the mental hurdles that came with it. She’s vulnerable about how she was feeling after Tokyo. And she’s clear about the fact that her mental health is a massive reason for her success now.
The gymnast also opened up in the documentary about the hate she’s received throughout her career and how she copes with it.
From spending time with her husband and family, to going to therapy and intentionally working on her skills at the gym, she worked her way back up to the top by making her mental health a top priority.
Gymnastics, and elite sports in general, are known for being both physically and mentally trying on athletes, and it's empowering to see someone as influential as Biles being open about it. She's faced great adversity throughout her career, and it's amazing to witness her back on top while also breaking down stigmas around mental health.
Overall, Rising is an in-depth look into Simone Biles’ comeback and a peek into how hard it is to become and maintain the title Greatest of All Time. Now, knowing that the gymnast has further solidified herself as the G.O.A.T. at the Paris games only makes this story sweeter, and you’ll be able to see it play out more when Part 2 of the docuseries Netflix's 2024 release schedule later this year.
To see how the rest of her story plays out live, you can watch the Olympics with a Peacock subscription and the first two episodes of Rising with a Netflix subscription.
