Simone Biles Shared the Weekly Habit That Inspired Her Gymnastics Return

It’s official: Simone Biles is returning to the competition floor for the primary time for the reason that Tokyo Olympics—but not without some mental preparation.

In June, a USA Gymnastics press release announced that the 26-year-old will compete on the 2023 US Classic in August alongside fellow Olympic gold medalist Suni Lee and 2020 Olympic floor champion Jade Carey, amongst other medalists. Biles confirmed the news on Twitter, writing that she’s “overwhelmed” by fans’ support and “excited to get back.”

In honor of the announcement, Biles recently hosted an Instagram Story Q&A, per People, and when a fan asked her how she’s “handling the mental side” of her comeback, she answered truthfully.

“Numerous therapy,” she reportedly wrote. “I’m going once per week for nearly two hours. I’ve had a lot trauma, so having the ability to work on among the traumas and work on healing is a blessing.”

On the pandemic-postponed Tokyo games in 2021, Biles withdrew from the US women’s gymnastics team all-around final after making some rare mistakes within the qualifying round. Although she did return to earn bronze on the balance beam, she later attributed her errors to a case of the twisties, which occurs when an athlete’s mind and body have a disconnect midair, leading to a potentially dangerous lack of muscle memory and spatial awareness, SELF previously reported. She also cited the necessity to concentrate on her mental health.

In a post-games interview with Today, Biles connected the severity of her twisties to longtime repression of being sexually abused by former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. “Over time, after suppressing so many emotions and putting up a front on a worldwide scene, I feel really all of that got here to light,” she said. “My body and my mind allowed me to suppress all of that stuff for thus a few years for so long as it could take. And as soon as we stepped on the Olympics scene, it just decided it couldn’t do it anymore, and it cracked.”

Since then, Biles has continued to talk candidly about her withdrawal and has change into one among skilled sports’ top mental health advocates. “It’s difficult to speak about the way you’re doing mentally because it’s an invisible injury,” she told Good Housekeeping last yr. “People can’t see it, so it’s harder to grasp, but I feel that’s why it’s so necessary we feel empowered to open up about it.”

In 2021, Biles admitted to Today that she was “still scared” to do certain gymnastics moves, but therapy, time, and the support of family, friends, and fans have fueled her imminent return. In her Q&A, she recalled discovering the game on a day care field trip. “I immediately fell in love,” she wrote. “And have done it ever since.”

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