What does a comeback mean from an athlete who has won four Olympic gold medals as well as countless national and world championships? 

Simone Biles, 26, was born in Columbus, Ohio and grew up with her grandparents in Spring, Texas.

Biles rose to fame at only 16 years old, winning two gold medals at the Gymnastic World Championships. She went on to win eight more before heading to the Summer Olympics at Rio de Janeiro. Standing at four feet eight inches, Biles dazzled at her first Olympic games, winning gold on her vault and floor routines, as well as in all-around and team competitions. Additionally, she won bronze for her performance on the beam. 

To the majority of people this would be amazing, and to the majority of people it was, but even then, Biles only really saw those who were disappointed. Yes, she had slipped on her beam routine costing her first place. But the public’s viewpoint infuriated her. After all, a bronze medal in the Olympics is still a huge achievement. 

In 2021 Biles spoke of the feelings she had at that moment in her Facebook Watch docuseries, Simone vs Herself : “And I was still happy with my bronze, but I couldn’t be happy, because nobody else was happy for me.” 

While this was a new high for Biles’ career, it was perhaps a new low for her mental health. In December of 2016, four months after the Rio Olympics, the USA Gymnastics team doctor for women’s artistic gymnastics, Larry Nassar, was arrested following years of sexual abuse allegations from hundreds of gymnasts. 

Simone Biles was one of them. 

Over the next four years, Biles trained relentlessly, won a seemingly endless number of medals at both national and international gymnastics competitions, published the book, Courage to Soar, qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and prepared to testify in the trial of Larry Nassar. 

After the delay of the Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the world was thrilled to see Biles retake the stage in 2021 in Tokyo. 

In a move that was both heralded for its bravery and condemned by those who believe a sport comes before an athlete, Biles withdrew from the competition after slipping on her vault routine. Although she returned to win bronze in the beam event, she still spoke of suffering from the “twisties,” a mental block where gymnasts are no longer able to gauge where they are in the air.

Biles has described it as a culmination of the stress of her rise to stardom, as well as the ongoing trial of her and her teammates’ abuser, Larry Nassar. At the time of the Tokyo Olympics, she was set to testify in court just a week later. 

Speaking to reporters at the time, Biles gained praise for prioritizing her health. 

“I have to focus on my mental health,” she said, “and not jeopardize my health and well-being.” 

It was an important step for Biles, and she spent the next two years taking some time away from the spotlight, even getting married in the spring of 2023.

Yet now, she has returned. Competing on Aug. 4 in the suburbs of Chicago, Biles blew the crowd away in the Core Hydration Classic.. Her success in the competition qualified her for the U.S. National Championships putting her on the path to Paris in 2024. 

Looking at the story of Simone Biles, decidedly unfinished at this point, it is still one of the greatest athlete comebacks of our era. And it has had a ripple effect, helping show athletes on all levels that prioritizing their health – both mental and physical – is OK, and that no matter what, the person comes before the sport.

Article by Hollis Mann