Simone Biles is leaving Paris with four more Olympic medals after overcoming the ‘Twisties’ she battled at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Speaking to NBC’s Today Show, Biles credited her regular visualization exercises she went through with her therapist.
‘It meant seeing my therapist pretty routinely,’ Biles said Tuesday. ‘So I saw her about three or four times throughout this whole entire process, and it didn’t matter if it was before all around or after qualifications, I went back to the village and got on a call and did my therapy sessions because that’s routine for me now.’
The impact was obvious. Biles won a single bronze medal three years ago in Tokyo, where she dropped out after battling the twisties – an issue impacting gymnasts’ mid-flight awareness that puts competitors at risk of physical harm.
But with the help of regular therapy sessions in Paris, Biles was able to take gold in the team, all-around and vault, while winning silver for her floor exercise.
This morning, @Simone_Biles speaks to @hodakotb all about her four new medals at the Paris Olympics, giving Rebeca Andrade her flowers, why she wouldn’t be at the level she is today without her parents and adoption and more. ❤️ #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/13i46s1SPM
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) August 6, 2024
‘It just gave me the confidence,’ she said of her therapy sessions. ‘We do a lot of visualizations before meets so I just feel comfortable enough and confident enough to compete. But since it’s part of my daily routine, we don’t want to stop that just because I’m halfway across the world.
Biles recently opened up about her anxiety battles during the Olympics in a video of her preparations for Thursday’s stunning all-around gold medal victory.
In a TikTok post recorded before she won the competition, the 27-year-old gave fans a behind-the-scenes look at her life in the Olympic village. She captioned the post: ‘Get ready with meeee for all around finals @ the Olympics.’
While Biles was doing her makeup before her second event of the Games, she candidly discussed handling her emotions while competing on the greatest stage of all.
‘I am really nervous, that is to be expected,’ she said. ‘I just had therapy this morning so I am feeling a little bit better. I have just worked so hard mentally to get to this moment.
‘Tonight I start vault and I honestly think that’s the event I am most nervous for because I don’t want to overpower.’
Biles also explained that she has mainly avoided the Olympic village in Paris after being ambushed by fans who were desperate to get a selfie with the American star.
‘I haven’t done much around the Olympic village,’ Biles said. ‘It’s because the first day we got here, I got to the cafeteria and a lot of people were asking me for photos non-stop and when I sat down to eat, my anxiety was so bad I was shaking.
‘I could not stop shaking, I was so overwhelmed. I went to the cafeteria to meet my friend but I hadn’t been to the cafeteria for five days.
‘I just go to the store and stock up on food and just stay here [in her room] because it gets me so anxious.’
Biles has been candid about her mental health struggles around a sport where she has enjoyed phenomenal success in.
During the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, she withdrew citing mental health and later explained that she had the ‘twisties’ – a perceived psychological disconnect between a gymnast’s mind and body, most notably during twists.
In an interview with NBC in June, Biles said seeing her therapist is every Thursday ‘is kind of religious for me’ and it was no exception for her in Paris.
