“I Get Emotional…”: Simone Biles Reveals Her Biggest Source of Motivation for Her Olympic Comeback

Things were not looking good mentally for Simone Biles, who had spent some time healing and recovering after she decided to quit the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. For two years, she spent hibernating, supporting her husband Jonathan Owens at his NFL matches, and spending quality time with her family. The gym was still a place she’d visit on her own accord.

Recalling the troubled transitional phase at the time in her newest documentary on Netflix, the GOAT admitted how hesitant she was to do it all again. She might be the greatest gymnast at the time, but it was all a bundle of nerves for her to even attempt to practice.

Throughout all this, she had her World Champions Center team to remind her of her true capabilities. Joscelyn Roberson, who stuck with her through thick and thin, recalled how they’d talk about Twisties a lot during these sessions.

However, Biles hated the idea of potentially failing the hopeful group of girls who had their eyes on her at all times. She recalled how they’d always encourage her while she felt scared to even go forth with a basic vault move because of the chances of getting lost.

“I didn’t want them to see how defeated I was, but I would listen to the girls.”

It turns out, that the group of young gymnasts would always coax Biles to come over for practice the following day. And despite her mental blocks and hesitation, the star would oblige and push herself for her own good. And that gesture was a strong trigger for her decision to get back to competing on the international stage again.

“I always am like, ‘I don’t think you guys understand like, how much you’ve helped me this year’. So I get emotional…”

The end result was more than just magic on the vault since Biles, at 27, recently punched her ticket to Paris. With her sixth world title in her bag along with other unique records, it looks like she might be ready to shine brightly again.

Ahead of the Paris Olympics, Simone Biles seems to have a new record to her name

A gymnast’s ability to leap up high in the air is not foreign to those participating in or spectating the scene. Despite their average short height, the athletes can pack a punch when it comes to tricky moves on bars and beams.

Therefore, the news of Biles’ high leaps up in the air was not new until they were put up against the height of an extremely tall athlete. In a recent graphical representation, Sports Center compared Biles’ leap during one of her floor routines during the Olympic trials finals with the French NBA player Victor Wembanyama’s 7’4 towering height.

Turns out, she set a new record for her jump measured at a whopping 12 feet! Despite being 4’8 herself, it looks like Biles has pulled off more great feats off the arena with her skills.