It's no secret that Simone Biles' ascent to becoming a record-breaking Olympian and the most decorated gymnast of all time hasn't been without its difficulties. Biles gave fans a candid glimpse into her experience with nerves at the 2024 Paris Olympics with a get-ready with me TikTok before she went on to win gold for the individual all-around this week.
Sharing the video one day after she took home her sixth gold medal — and right before she earned her seventh on Saturday — Biles filmed herself getting ready before the all-around finals on Thursday and opened up about working through her anxiety while in Paris. Wearing a grey Team USA Olympics t-shirt, Biles put on her makeup while saying how “nervous” she was, why she avoided doing much around the Olympic Village, and her recent funny experience with Botox.
“I did have therapy this morning so I feel a little bit better," Biles said. “I've just worked so hard mentally to get to this moment."
Biles expressed her worry about starting the evening's competition on vault, saying that she didn't want to “overpower it.”
“I'm doing that Yurchenko double pike — which is also known as the Biles. Actually, the Biles II on vault,” she said of the variation that she debuted in 2021 — the first woman to ever do so.
Biles also confessed in her TikTok that she had avoided spending much time around the other Olympians in the Olympic Village and instead spent most of her time in her room.
“I have not done much around the Olympic Village and it's because the first day we got here, I got to the cafeteria and a lot of people were asking me for photos like nonstop,” Biles explained. “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.”
Biles continued: “I went to the cafeteria to meet my friend yesterday, but before that, I haven't gone back to the cafeteria in like five days. I just go to the store, stock up on food, and just like stay here because it gets me so anxious.”
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Despite her nerves, Simone Biles went on to secure gold that night, with fellow Team USA teammate Suni Lee securing bronze, and Brazillian gymnast Rebeca Andrade getting silver. After the win, Biles joked in a post-competition interview that she didn't “want to compete with Rebeca no more" because she was “way too close.” Biles also spoke about Andrade's talent in her video, saying “Y'all, like, she's good.”
“I would say she's my top competitor,” Biles continued on TikTok. “We [have] very similar scores overall and I haven't had competition like this in a while. But I am very excited to be competing and rotating with her.”
Biles has continued to showcase why she's the GOAT and a top-tier athlete — especially after having to withdraw from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics mid-games after experiencing a phenomenon called the “twisties.” The road back to Paris has proven Biles' determination, as she has so far secured three gold medals this Olympic games.
