“Simone Biles Sends Shockwaves Through the Olympics Again — 11 Photos Capture Her Unexpected Return”

It’s been four years since Simone Biles stunned the world by pulling out of multiple events at the Olympics in Japan.

Biles went into the Tokyo Games as perhaps the most famous active Olympian, having won four gold medals in Rio five years earlier. Yet the gymnast was unable to compete in multiple events due to her mental health, as she battled the “twisties.”

The “twisties” are when gymnasts are hit with a mental block, comparable to the “yips” in other sports.

“I truly do feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders at times,” admitted Biles during the Tokyo Games. “I know I brush it off and make it seem like pressure doesn’t affect me, but damn, sometimes it’s hard.”

Biles still managed to win a bronze medal and a silver in Tokyo before her triumphant return in Paris last year. Biles was almost unstoppable in France, clinching three gold medals and a silver to become an 11-time Olympic medalist.

Simone Biles’ Olympic career was left in doubt after she withdrew from multiple events in Tokyo in 2021; she failed to win gold that summer

Biles won gold in the Team, All-Round, and Vault events in Paris to confirm her legacy as one of America’s greatest Olympians

Seven-time champion

The star’s incredible gymnastic skills saw her end the Paris Games as a seven-time Olympic champion

Floor excellence

Biles also won a silver medal in the Floor Exercise event last year, as Brazil’s Rebecca Andrade picked up the top prize