Simone Biles makes her feelings known as she reflects on 'rivalry' with Rebeca Andrade

Modified Apr 21, 2025 21:33 GMT

Legendary artistic gymnast Simone Biles recently shared her thoughts on her healthy rivalry with Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade. The eleven-time Olympic medalist spoke about how friendly competition strengthens their connection.

Biles is the most decorated artistic gymnast of all time, having won 30 world championship medals and two Pacific Rim Championship medals. She recently received her fourth Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year award, following her previous three wins in 2017, 2019, and 2020.

The 2025 Laureus Sports ceremony was held in Madrid, Spain, honouring the best talents in different sports categories. The US icon expressed her thoughts on her friendship with Andrade and how their healthy competition makes them grow in their personal and professional lives. She said via Laureus Sports:

"Rebeca. I feel like me and Rebeca's friendship is, so fun, in our competition. It's good rivalry. It's healthy competition. And I feel like we push each other to each boundary. Meaning our own personal boundaries. And I think it's always exciting whenever I get the opportunity to compete against her, because I'm always, on my toes."

Expand Tweet

Rebeca Andrade is a six-time Olympic medalist and has nine World Championship medals. She has four gold and two silver medals from the Pan American Championships, as well as four Pan American Games medals. Andrade won the 2025 Laureus Sports Awards for Laureus World Comeback of the Year.

Simone Biles reflects on her mental health technique

Simone Biles at the Winners Press Conference - Laureus World Sports Awards Madrid 2025 - Source: Getty

Due to stress and pressure, during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Simone Biles went through twisties, a mental block that results in a mind and body disconnect. This condition renders the gymnasts incapable of performing aerial routines.

After battling mental health challenges, Biles became its advocate. During her interview with Child Mind Institute, Biles shared her technique, which helps her to maintain her mental health balance.

"One of them is a worry journal because I have pretty bad anxiety sometimes," Biles said. "So she tells me in my worry journal to put from 12 to 1 pm and that's the time I selected and anything I've written down in my worry journal used that hour to worry about those things, then and usually by the time 12 or 1 comes, I've already forgotten about all my worries so that kind of is a tool that helps me." [1:43 onwards]

In 2022, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award of the United States, from former President Joe Biden.

About the author

Ravleen Kaur is a voracious content creator possessing an avid and profound interest in both sports and their spellbinding narratives. With a digital marketing and marketing management background, she is able to add zeal and unique perspective to every emerging sports trends. While accumulating crucial certified marketing principles, her novel viewpoints hold its distinctive and captivating writing style. Her cognition and ardor for writing are to inspire and help the readers, so that they gain all the prominent stories revolving around the spectacular world of sports.

Know More