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Gymnast Simone Biles Confirms Her 2024 Olympics Ambitions: "Making Sure Everything Is Aligned"
In 2021, the gymnast suffered from the "twisties," forcing her to step back from the Tokyo Summer Games.
Simone Biles is ready to go for the gold at the 2024 Olympics.
The Olympic gold-medalist won the 2023 U.S. Classic in Chicago on August 4, marking her official return to the mat after withdrawing from multiple competitions during the Tokyo Games because of a case of the "twisties." And while Biles hadn't previously shared her ambitions to be part of Team USA in Paris next summer, she confirmed to NBC News's TODAY that she is, indeed, hoping to once again capture Olympic glory.
"That’s the path that I would love to go," she told Hoda Kotb.
Still, Biles isn't putting too much pressure on herself ahead of the Olympic trials. She said she's taking things "slowly," adding, "We've kind of been playing it on the down low this time, making sure mentally and physically are both intact. So I think it’ll be different, but it’ll be good."
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What were Simone Biles' "Twisties?"
Biles wowed the world during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, winning individual gold medals in the all-around competition, vault, and floor, as well as leading the U.S. women to a team gold. However, during the Tokyo Games in 2021, Biles chose to withdraw from the competition after experiencing the "twisties" while practicing. She explained to her Instagram followers at the time that the "twisties" impacted her performance and were a cause for concern as it could result in injury.
"It's the craziest feeling ever. not having an inch of control over your body. what's even scarier is since I have no idea where I am in the air I also have NO idea how I'm going to land. or what I'm going to land on. head/ hands/ feet/ back," she wrote, according to E! Online.
How is Simone Biles training for the Summer Games?
To combat the twisties, Biles has started attending therapy, in addition to her normal training regimen in the gym.
"I have to take care of myself a little bit more and listen to my body and making sure that I'm making time for the important things in my life," Biles shared with TODAY. "Rather than before it was just like, 'Go, go, go.' And then making time after. And this time around it's like being intentional, going to therapy, making sure everything is aligned."
Biles is also relying on the support from her family and husband, NFL player Jonathan Owens, whom she married in April 2023. Their relationship is currently long distance, owing to the fact that he was recently signed to the Green Bay Packers, but Biles said it's made them "cherish the moments we get together."
When are the gymnastics trials for the 2024 Olympics?
The gymnastic trials will take place in June 2024 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where Biles' teammate Sunisa "Suni" Lee grew up.
"I am so excited and proud that Minneapolis has been selected to host the Olympic Trials,” Lee said of the event in June. “Watching the Olympians who came before me was such an inspiration when I was growing up, and it means so much to know that the young athletes of Minnesota will have a chance to watch and be inspired by the best gymnasts in America. I can’t wait for the Olympic Trials to be in my backyard.”
Like Biles, Lee took a brief step back from competing to tend to health issues in April. She shared in an April post to X, formerly known as Twitter, "I will not stop pursuing my dreams for a bid to Paris in 2024. In fact, this experience has sharpened my vision for the future."
She has since returned to the competition after receiving treatment for a kidney issue.
