Simone Biles and Aly Raisman | Getty Images

"Really broke my heart"- Aly Raisman opens up on Simone Biles' honest confession after the Paris Olympics

Modified Nov 01, 2024 11:30 GMT

Aly Raisman spoke about Simone Biles' confession which had a huge impact on her. The American gymnast revealed how Biles' reason to continue to compete despite struggling with ankle issues left her heartbroken. Biles was struggling with ankle issues during the qualifying rounds of the Paris Olympics and decided to compete despite the pain as she did not want people to label her as a 'quitter' once again.

Biles made her third Olympic appearance in Paris and her participation in the event was highly anticipated by fans after her withdrawal from the previous edition of the quadrennial games in Tokyo. The American gymnast withdrew from the finals of the team event at the Tokyo Olympics citing mental health reasons and faced a huge backlash on social media with several users calling her a 'quitter'.

The 27-year-old revealed how the backlash had a profound impact on her and affected her mentally in the documentary series, 'Simone Biles: Rising'. Biles aimed for redemption in her appearance at the Paris Olympics, however, tragedy struck the gymnast during the qualifying rounds of the Paris Olympics.

Biles was visibly struggling during the warm-up on the vault and even left the arena to get medical attention. However, the American gymnast decided to compete despite the pain. Former Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman was featured in the second part of the documentary series and revealed the 27-year-old's heartbreaking confession.

"Gymnastics is dangerous as it is and honestly I do not know how she continued to go but she said something to me after the competition that will always stick with me and that really broke my heart. And I asked her, 'How did you do it when you were in so much pain?' and she said ' I couldn't have people tell me that I was a quitter again,'" shared Raisman.

Simone Biles on dealing with injuries throughout her career

Biles at the Los Angeles Premiere Of Netflix's "Simone Biles Rising: Part 2" - Source: Getty

Simone Biles spoke about being injured in the course of her career as a professional gymnast which has spanned over a decade. The 27-year-old revealed how she has been dealing with it since the beginning of her career and has become used to it.

"I've been quite fortunate with injuries but there's been some stuff. There's been a calf I have partially torn two or three times, I broke a rib in 2016, and oh yeah, it turned out my toe was shattered in five pieces after the last Olympics without me knowing," she said.

The American gymnast has emerged stronger despite facing several setbacks in her career due to injuries and transpired as one of the most successful gymnasts of this generation.