Q&A: Simone Biles meets with the press for the first time since announcing comeback
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. – Simone Biles won the 2023 Core Hydration Classic on Saturday in her first competition since the Tokyo Olympic Games. Afterward, Biles met with the press for the first time since her comeback was announced in late June.
Prior to Saturday, Biles had been relatively quiet about her return, only commenting on her entry to the Classic after USA Gymnastics released the field, and then keeping her comments contained to Q&As on her Instagram.
Keep reading for Biles’ full interview with the press.
Q: Just tell us about your night, and how it felt to come back?
Simone Biles: I think the night went really well. It’s kind of what we practice in the gym, and we had a mock meet Saturday. I went to camp just recently. So everything has fallen into place. I feel really good about where I am right now, mentally and physically. I still think there are some things to work on throughout the night and in my routines, but for the first meet back, I would say it went pretty well. I’m very shocked, surprised. So I’m just I’m happy. I feel a lot better now that that’s out of the way.”
Q: What kind of ring were you wearing when you were competing?
Biles: It’s literally like an Amazon, like cubic zirconia. It was like $15.
Q: You said you were shocked. What’s shocking?
Biles: I think what shocks me the most is everyone’s so supportive, like in the crowd – all of the girls, all of the signs – after everything that transpired in Tokyo. I mean, obviously, you know, they @ me in all those tweets and stuff, so I get a lot of that stuff, but the amount of outpouring love and support that I had on Twitter, on Instagram and in the arena was just really shocking and surprising to me that they still have so much belief in me. They still love me, and it just makes my heart warm because it’s nice to come out here and have all that support, especially in a time like this where I was really nervous to compete again, but everyone… I can’t ask for more.
Q: What advice do you have for athletes that are struggling with their mental health?
Biles: Well, I definitely say you kind of have to take that mental break, because if not, obviously, your body will decide for you, and that’s kind of what mine did in Tokyo. It was the worst timing, but obviously, I’m very happy [with] what happened just because I got to go and really focused on myself. And I’m still continuing to work on myself, go to therapy, and make sure everything is all in line so that in the gym, we can just focus on gym.
Q: What has the process been like for the last two years and deciding to do this again?
Biles: In the beginning, whenever I came back to training – it was, I believe, September – and it was kind of just playing around in the gym, trying to get fit again. I took almost all of October off, some of November because I was doing a lot of speaking engagements and stuff. And then obviously the holidays roll around, so we’re like okay, just stay in shape. Let’s play with some combinations. Let’s put out some routines.
And I really feel like [coach] Laurent [Landi] is always one step ahead of me. So every time I would come into the gym, he’s like, okay, so I have some set routines for you, and I’m like what? I’m literally just trying to get in shape. And then once the new year started, that’s when I started doing two-a-days and trying to get really back into shape. And obviously I still had some things, and I was working on the wedding. So after May, we really buckled down, but before that it was just still training, still trying to do routines and stuff like that.
And I’m not sure I even actually told them or we told each other. I think it was just like… we could kind of see it. Because then Laurent was like, okay, we’re competing at Classics, and I was like, OH, I am? Okay, got it. I think it was just like so unspoken that neither one of us wanted to say and [coach] Cecile [Landi], too, and then the leos got shipped to the gym, and I was like, okay, this is what I’m wearing. I guess I am competing. So it was just kind of unspoken, but like we knew.
Q: Cecile said you guys went to a Mexican restaurant in March, and you told her that you wanted to do this again for yourself. Can you tell us about that dinner and what that conversation was like?
Biles: Well, when margs get in the mix, who knows what you’re gonna say! So maybe the next day it was different, but yeah, just kind of committing and deciding like, okay, after the wedding, we’re gonna go full force. We’re gonna take this pretty serious. If I want a potential spot at making championships and worlds, we knew that we kind of had to buckle down and stop doing [speaking] events and all of this stuff. Kind of put life on hold right now, and then it’ll continue after.
Q: What’s the plan for next year?
Biles: Right now, I think I should just embrace what happened today. Be happy for me, for my teammates. We’ll go into championships in a couple of weeks, work on those tweaks that we have today. But I’m in a really good spot, and who knows? I’m not gonna think so far ahead. I know everybody is just like… when you get married, they ask when you’re having a baby. You come to Classics, they’re asking you about the Olympics. I think we’re just trying to take it one step at a time and we’ll see.
Q: It looked like you were having more fun than being nervous. Was that actually how it was?
Biles: Oh, thank god. Yea, I thought I was going to sh– bricks.
That’s good, because I was very nervous. So, at least if it looked like I was having fun, that’s good, but I think after every routine it got a little bit easier. Usually, my power events like vault and floor, I go in, I’m like, okay, I know I’m gonna make these. I think this was the complete opposite. In trainings, I’ve been making all my bars sets, all my beam sets. So that’s a complete 180 for me. So to get that out there on floor and vault, I was like, ooh, how’s this gonna go? I’ve been making them, but not as confident. So getting back in that groove and just having fun and remembering that I’m here for myself and stuff like that. It made all the difference. So I’m very happy.
We get to go home and celebrate this. It’s the little wins. So I’m just very excited that I was able to do what I’ve done in training and have Cecile, Laurent, and all the girls behind me, supporting me and just so happy, and I think we all had a good week from [World Champions Centre]. We kind of had a WCC sweep on the podium. So that’s also something else, too.
Q: What was the most emotional moment of the night for you
Biles: I don’t know. I thought I was gonna be really emotional coming out, and then just… Even in training, I think it was more on podium training yesterday, as soon as I’d done that first full out on bars, everybody was screaming so loud, and I was like I’m twisting again. So to just have that support means the world, and I think that’s when we got emotional and like my coach and my parents and my agent. I think they got a little emotional after vault and everything and… so did medical and [USAG Vice President of Women’s Gymnastics] Annie [Heffernon]. Everyone has been through so much at the Olympics, and then to come back and have kind of a 180, it was really nice. It was breath of fresh air.
Q: How does twisting feel?
Biles: I still get a little bit nervous, but I think it’s just subconscious. But other than that, I know my body is capable, prepared, and all of that stuff. So I just have to trust my training.
Q: Have you been working on trying to just enjoy the moment instead of thinking ahead, thinking of the next big thing?
Biles: Yea, I think so, just living in the moment. Trusting myself, trusting my coaches, trusting my training. Because, before, it’s like… I could be doing anything and then go do whatever flip. And now I just have to have faith a little bit more in myself, and I have to keep reminding myself you can do this. You’ve done this since you were younger and stuff like that. But I also think that it has to do with… I’m just getting older, like my body is a little bit more, you know, so I get a little bit nervous that my body is like… I rely on myself, but is my body going to rely on me? But other than that, just living in the moment. It has been hard, but I also think it’s been easy because me and my husband [Jonathan Owens], since we’ve been a little bit long distance – he’s in Green Bay [with the Packers] – that’s all we have to do while we’re both separated. Both elite athletes, so it’s kind of made it a little bit easier. And he has a scrimmage tonight, so I haven’t talked to him yet. But I will.
Q: It’s hard not to think about what could happen six, eight, nine, 12 months from now, right?
Biles: I mean, yeah. I was talking to Laurent after, and we were like, I think I’m in better shape than I was in 2021. I think that goes mentally and physically. So that’s really nice. And we’re a little bit more prepared. Because usually at Classics, you know, you’re like 50-60%, and then at championships, like 80, and then hopefully at worlds camp and then worlds, you’re 100%. But I really do feel a little bit more prepared than any other Classics that I’ve been to, but I’ve always had faith in Cecile and Laurent. And I always knew… if I went to the gym and told them, hey, I want to compete this year, I want to be doing Classics, they would prepare me, and that’s exactly what they did and what we did as a team. So I’m really happy to have them by my side because I couldn’t do it without them.
Q: What do you think sparked your decision to return?
Biles: I mean, I think it’s kind of obvious. I mean, you saw what happened – pulling out a five finals [when] I know what I’m capable of and knowing what I can do and… it was like a mental injury, you know? So something like that I knew I could, with the proper work and the proper help, I knew I could come back and hopefully have a shot. It’s just about really taking care of my body right now. And so that’s what we’re doing, and it’s working. So we’re gonna continue to do that, but don’t ask about 2028 because listen… (laughter).
Q: How do you feel now about pressure and expectations? How do you manage that?
Biles: I think I feel a lot better because I found ways to manage that. It’s like: deleting Twitter, not trying to look at it, and stuff like that. Because there are really nice comments. You have your supporters, your fans, like your day ones, and then you have those really nasty ones that can get to you, but I really do feel like, being an elite athlete, yeah, we’re expected to do what we do and to go through what we go through just because we’re so good at what we do. But, at the end of the day, we’re kind of not normal. The things we do aren’t normal, and yes, we go through normal people stuff. We have our own set of sh– that we go through. So to expect us to just drop it for an Olympics or whatever, it’s kind of hard to tell somebody that, especially when you’re at the top of your game, but at the end of the day, we have a really good team surrounding us that we can manage all of that stress and everything so I do feel a little bit more positive going into this cycle – or guess the end of it – with the resources that we have and everything going…
I think it’ll just be different. I mean, we’re not even… We’re still dealing with COVID but not to the capacity. We’re gonna get to have our family and our friends go, and we’ll get to be in the village. So the experience will be so different that we won’t be stuck in our thoughts all day. We’ll get to focus on our gymnastics and that’s it.
Because I think Tokyo was really hard for a lot of athletes, because after what happened to me, walking around the village, all the athletes coming up to me having similar experiences, but it was unspoken, you know? It’s just kind of silent demons that we were all fighting, but getting to talk to people and realizing we’re kind of all going through this together was nice, but it’s sad because it’s the pinnacle of your career. You should be on top of the world, and everybody’s kind of dreading it and so sad… but I feel grateful that I get this opportunity and to come back out here and to compete in front of a crowd, because I truly didn’t believe I’d be back here competing at all.
Q: Given the reaction you got tonight, it’s hard to imagine that at some point you weren’t sure how the fans were going to receive you.
Biles: I can show you my Twitter feed, and you might think differently. Or Instagram. Or Facebook… I knew everybody, obviously, in the building has so much support, and so that I wasn’t worried about. I think I was more worried about outside noises, but coming in here and seeing all the girls – and they’re just so excited and happy and proud for me – it’s just like, this is why I do it. One day they’ll be out here competing, and hopefully, the people in the crowd believe in them as much as they believe in me. So I just feel super grateful for them.
Q: Is the definition of “doing it for me” now different than what you meant two years ago?
Biles: I think going into it, I really was doing it for me, and then there were all those outside noises and then everybody telling me like, you’re our gold medal token and all that stuff. And that’s from our inside team. That was really tough.
And then I would have a practice and I would be concentrated and I would have fun, and then they would come up to me afterwards and be like, Simone, you need to be more cheery, the girls are struggling a little bit. And so there were a lot of things that, since I had already been to an Olympic Games, that they were also expecting out of me that I kind of couldn’t do my own job. I did as much as I could. And I’m so grateful that I could help those girls because that’s what a captain does – you guide those girls – but it’s at some point, we can’t nitpick everything we do. As long as we’re in there doing our training, which that’s what we were doing, I think that’s all that matters, but then it got a little bit crazy on the outside. But I’m really grateful, and I’m super excited for all those girls that got to compete in Tokyo and show off their talent and now a lot of them are here or in college… So happy.
Q: What does it mean “doing it for me” mean now versus then?
Biles: I think, truly, I’m also a little bit older. I’m more mature. So at this point… Nobody’s forcing me out here. This is truly me. So it’s definitely for me and nobody else, and I also don’t think I have… kind of the weight of going back-to-back Olympics, so I feel a little bit better about that. Kind of taking a fresh start and everything. Still going out there and talking about mental health and talking to all the other athletes and supporting them on their journeys as well.
Q: Who was telling you that you were the gold medal token?
Biles: I mean, I don’t think it really matters, you know?
Q: You mentioned so many of you guys are back to elite, trying to make this next Olympic team. Does that say anything about the culture of USA Gymnastics improving for the better?
Biles: Yeah, I think so. I think it’s turning around, but I also think we’re doing something that has never been seen before. It takes one person to go out there and either break records or barriers or age boundaries. Then you have the other athletes coming up saying, oh, wow, my career doesn’t have to just be over at 18, go to college, whatever. I can kind of prolong that. So I think having me and some of the other girls that are a little bit older and seeing what we’re doing and being more mature, physically and mentally, in the gym, it just gives them all the hope in the world that you don’t have to peak at 16. Your time is still coming. Go out there, have fun, learn some experience, and then keep going.
