"People are going to think I'm quitting again"-Recalling Tokyo horror, Simone Biles opens up on leaving the arena after injury scare at Paris Olympics

By Adityan Pillai

Modified Oct 26, 2024 04:37 GMT

Simone Biles opened up on leaving the arena at the Paris Olympics after warming up ahead of her floor routine performance. The American gymnast felt little discomfort when she made her initial maneuvers on the floor while warming up, and went on to get a medical evaluation leading to a similar situation from the previous edition of the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Biles withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics ahead of the team finals due to mental health concerns and faced criticism on social media with fans calling her a 'quitter'. The 27-year-old opened up about facing a similar situation at the Paris Olympics in the second part of her documentary series 'Simone Biles: Rising'.

The Olympic gold medalist began her warmup routine with a triple-double on the floor during which she felt a weird sensation on her calf muscle while taking off. After discussing it with her coach, Cecile Landi, she left the arena for a primary medical examination.

"At first in my head, I was like no way that is my Achilles and then I just went over to Cecile and I was like I think I just pulled my calf muscle or tore my calf muscle something is going on. Deja Vu it was so annoying and I think that's what irritated me the most as soon as I got off the floor, I was like people are going to think I'm quitting again," she said.

After the medical examination, Biles taped her ankle and competed in all of the events that she participated in ultimately winning four medals which included three gold medals and one silver medal.

Simone Biles on her victorious campaign at the Paris Olympics

Simone Biles at the Olympic Games Paris 2024: Day 10 - Source: Getty

Simone Biles spoke about her victorious campaign at the Paris Olympics in an interview with NBC. Her appearance at the quadrennial games in the French capital was termed as a 'redemption' by fans after her withdrawal from the Tokyo Olympics.

“I don’t think I will until one day I decide to retire. But yesterday, once we got back to the village, I looked at Jordan and just started bawling my eyes out. And she was like, ‘I knew it was going happen — I just didn’t know when!'” she said.

“I think I was just so full of emotion and I finally released all of that. I was so proud, happy, and bittersweet that the journey was over. It’s so crazy. It happened too quickly. My third Olympics!” she added.

The campaign took her overall Olympic medal count to 11, making her the most decorated American Olympic gymnast.