“Hadn’t Been Good Enough”: Simone Biles Once Reflected on How 2011 Nationals Heartbreak Changed Her Life

Simone Biles is the GOAT of gymnastics, with the reputation of being unbeatable at her skill, even though she had humble beginnings. In her memoirs, ‘Courage to Soar,’ she recounts these experiences in detail.

Biles has experienced it all—career highs, lows, an Olympic debut hit, a dramatic exit, and redemption. But throughout her career, she never skipped a beat and showed off her talent on the floor during competitions. Her status as a GOAT came in when she became one of the most decorated gymnasts of all time.

However, it wasn’t this way right from the beginning, and Biles had to go through her share of failures before emerging as a gymnastics prodigy. In her book, she recalled her attempt to qualify at the Nationals in 2011 and how failing to do so resulted in a trigger for success.

At the US National Championships in St. Paul, Minnesota, a young Biles ended up in the 14th position; not qualifying for the U.S. junior national team. At that time, she tried not to make a huge deal out of it but recalled being in tears about failing.

“I kept telling myself I’d done my best, trying to drown out the little voice in my head that whispered, ‘But did you really? Couldn’t you have worked a little harder? Why didn’t you do more?’.”

Instead of being bogged down by her failures, Biles decided she needed to work on herself and her technique to improve her performance. But the disappointment was still fresh somewhere, and the hurt continued tormenting her.

“I had come to Nationals with a goal of making the 2011 team, and it didn’t happen. I simply hadn’t been good enough.”

The defeat dragged her morale down and made her doubt herself and her abilities. However, with the help of her coach and appropriate training, she bounced back the next year and gave a stellar performance. Her dream of making it to the Nationals came to fruition, and she made it to the team in 2012.

Consequently, she won her first-ever World Championships title in 2013 and has been on a roll ever since. Something about that failure flipped the switch, and Biles grew more determined to prove her worth — the signs of a champion in the making.

Her journey so far may not have been the smoothest, but Simone Biles’ story is one for the books — full of inspirational anecdotes and lessons that teach one about resilience and grit.