How Simone Biles Changed Since The 2016 Rio Olympic Games
After a gold medal win at the 2016 Olympics, Simone Biles said, "I'm not the next Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps. I'm the first Simone Biles," per Elle. She's absolutely right. Biles is in a class all her own. In 2016, Biles competed in her very first Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. At the Games, she brought home a bronze medal, as well as four gold medals — one in team, all-around, vault, and floor exercises.
Since those games, Biles has continued on an upward trajectory, quickly establishing herself as one of the greatest gymnasts of all time. But it hasn't all been gold medals and GOAT appellations. Biles has had to contend with injuries, mental health struggles, and issues in her personal life to achieve her status. She's had good moments. She's had bad moments. She's been a world-class athlete and a regular human being through it all. Here's how Simone Biles' has changed since the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Simone Biles wrote an autobiography
Not many people's lives warrant an autobiography, especially when they haven't even been alive for two decades. But Simone Biles is not like most people. By the time she turned 20, she had already won gold at the Olympics, and she had written an autobiography. Just months after her historic performance in Rio, Biles released "Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance," which told all about the gymnast's incredible journey to becoming an Olympian. The autobiography made Biles a New York Times Best Selling author, and it was adapted as a television biopic called "The Simone Biles Story: Courage to Soar."
In the book, Biles shared several interesting details about her life, but perhaps the most anticipated were her stories from Rio, especially her feelings after her stellar individual performances. "When I awoke the next morning, I wasn't quite sure if the day before had all been a dream. I reached for my backpack and pulled out the medal, just to be sure. I unrolled the green ribbon and placed the gold disc in the palm of my hand, feeling its distinctive weight as I sent up a silent prayer of gratitude," Biles wrote in her book, as reported by ESPN.
The Olympian competed on Dancing with the Stars
Simone Biles is an elite athlete, and she proved that to the world at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. When she returned to the United States that year, she was flooded with opportunities to continue showcasing her talent and building her personal brand. One way she did that was by joining the cast of the hit ABC show "Dancing with the Stars." Biles was part of the Season 24 group, joining fellow Olympian Nancy Kerrigan, "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Erika Jayne, former "Glee" star Heather Morris, and famed actor and wrestler Mr. T.
Biles didn't win the season, but she did make a good run for the Mirrorball Trophy, finishing in 4th place along with her partner, Sasha Farber. "I just wanted to learn more about myself through this competition. If I won, it's cool. But if I didn't, there's still so much I can take away," Biles said to Pure Dancing with the Stars. Biles even had some takeaways for her life moving forward. "[I learned] that I need to speak up more and that I can be hard on myself. I'm more confident in the gym because I'm in my element. I'm trying to find that same confidence outside," Biles said.
She started competing again in 2018
Simone Biles has been through a lot. While some of her experiences have put her on top of the world — like winning gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics — others have been excruciating. In 2017, following the Games and after it had been revealed that former doctor for the USA Gymnastics Team, Larry Nassar, had sexually abused multiple athletes, Biles took a year off from competing, and she struggled with her mental health. "I was very depressed. At one point I slept so much because, for me, it was the closest thing to death without harming myself. It was an escape from all of my thoughts, from the world, from what I was dealing with. It was a really dark time," Biles told Vogue of her tough year.
If there's anything Biles has proven to be, it's resilient. After taking an entire year off from competing, she returned to gymnastics competitions in 2018, and she proved once again how dominant she is. That year, Biles took home medals of all colors, though mostly gold, and she became the first woman in gymnastics history to win a World all-around title four times.
If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.
Simone Biles discovered another injury
Injury, unfortunately, is an occupational hazard for a professional athlete. For gymnasts in particular, wrist, lower back, ankle, and knee injuries are common, among others. Simone Biles in particular has injured her shoulder and her leg, the latter of which required surgery to fix. In 2018, the gold medalist learned that she had been unwittingly competing while injured. "I've been quite fortunate with injuries but there's been some stuff. There's been a calf I have partially torn two or three times, I broke a rib in 2016, and oh yeah, it turned out my toe was shattered in five pieces after the last Olympics without me knowing," Biles told the Daily Mail, the broken toe being the aforementioned unknown injury.
Biles also had a kidney stone that year, which she was dealing with while competing. But she's a professional athlete who's used to pushing through outside forces to reach her goals. "I joke to my friends a lot that I am going to be in a wheelchair at 30 ... Pain is just something I live with and that is pretty odd for my age, right? It feels weird if I'm not in pain," Biles said.
The gymnast made history by completing an elite dismount
Simone Biles is good at what she does — really good. But to emphasize just how good of a gymnast she is, Biles has multiple skills named after her: one on the vault, two floor exercises, and one on the beam, the last of which is a double-double dismount. Biles became the first gymnast in history to land the beam dismount in 2019, which warranted her the skill eponym.
Although Biles made history with her dismount and earned another namesake skill, no good (or historic) deed goes unpunished, and along with her shining achievement came controversy. Because Biles was the first woman to attempt this dismount off the beam in competition, no difficulty had previously been assigned to the move. (When scoring gymnastics, both difficulty and execution are factored.) The FIG Women's Technical Committee (WTC) assigned the new move a difficulty that many who are knowledgeable about gymnastics, including Biles, disagreed with, arguing that it should have been labeled more difficult. The WTC responded to the backlash with a statement: "In assigning values to the new elements, the WTC takes into consideration many different aspects; the risk, the safety of the gymnasts and the technical direction of the discipline."
She withdrew from the 2020 Summer Olympics
After an excellent 2018 and 2019 for Simone Biles, she, along with the rest of the country, was excited to represent Team USA at another Olympic Games, this time in Tokyo. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Games were pushed to 2021, but Biles was still prepared. However, early in the Games, Biles withdrew from competition after a poor performance, citing her mental health. The gold medalist later explained that she had been suffering from "the twisties," a gymnastics phenomenon which Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez described to Olympics.com by saying, "The rhythm is off, and your brain will like stutter step for half a second and that's enough to throw off the whole skill." If "the twisties" persist, they can pose major risks to an athlete's safety.
Despite safety risks, Biles received major backlash for her decision, and it caused the gymnast distress. As she shared on an episode of the podcast "Call Her Daddy," "If I could have gotten on a plane and flown home, I would have done it. As soon as I landed [the vault], I was like, 'America hates me, the world is going to hate me, and I can only see what they're saying on Twitter right now.'" She added, "I thought I was going to be banned from America. Because that's what they tell you, 'Don't come back if it's not gold. Gold or bust — don't come back.'"
Simone Biles testified against her abuser
As noted, shortly after the 2016 Olympic Games, Larry Nassar, former doctor for the USA Gymnastics team, was accused of sexually abusing multiple athletes. Nassar was later charged with multiple sexual crimes; he was eventually found guilty and received many decades-long prison sentences for his atrocities. Unfortunately, Biles was one of Nassar's victims, and it took her years to fully process what had happened. "I know some girls had it worse than me. I know that for a fact. So I felt like I wasn't abused, because it wasn't to the same extent as the other girls. Some of my friends had it really, really bad. They were his favorite. Since mine wasn't to that capacity, I felt like it didn't happen," Biles told Vogue.
Although nothing can make up for what Biles (and the rest of the athletes) endured, she was able to testify in front of members of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2021 during its examination of how the FBI handled the Nassar case. "I don't want another young gymnast, Olympic athlete, or any individual to experience the horror that I and hundreds of others have endured before, during, and continuing to this day," Biles said.
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
She advocated for mental health
Multiple events in Simone Biles' life have led her to struggle with her mental health, including the 2020 Olympic Games. After withdrawing from competition in Tokyo, Biles took some time to work on her mental health, and she began advocating for it, especially among athletes. While on the "Gold Over America" tour, Biles promoted prioritizing mental health and finding the courage to talk about it. "It was important to include the mental health aspect because I know a lot of people coming out to watch this show go through similar things and to know that I'm not just brushing it aside or hiding it under the rug, that I'm bringing that talking and viewpoint to the forefront," Biles said to Olympics.com.
Since the tour, Biles has continued talking about mental health and encouraging others to do the same. As she returned to competition, she shared on her Instagram stories how she stayed mentally healthy. "Lots of therapy, I go once a week for almost 2 hrs. I've had so much trauma, so being able to work on some of the traumas & work on healing is a blessing," Biles said, as reported by People.
If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.
Simone Biles got married
Along with her downs, Simone Biles has had many ups since the 2016 Rio Olympics. In 2023, the elite gymnast married another professional athlete, Jonathan Owens, a football player for the Green Bay Packers. The couple had two weddings — they first officially wed in the United States in April of that year, and the next month they traveled to Cabo, Mexico for a ceremony and reception with guests. The bride wore a Galia Lahav gown and exchanged vows on the beach. Although Biles is no stranger to having all eyes on her, she was anxious on the day of her wedding. "I've never been so nervous before in my life. [But,] I felt confident walking down the aisle. Seeing Jonathan at the altar was a dream. Our guests were cheering for everyone. I was shocked by the love in the air. The ceremony was so beautiful and dreamy!" Biles told Vogue.
Biles and Owens had an eventful first year of marriage, including some scandal when Owens said on a podcast that he didn't know who Biles was before the two first met and quipped that he was the more desirable partner between the two. Despite all that, Biles and Owens happily celebrated their first anniversary in 2024. "This is your sign to marry your best friend ... I wish I could marry you a million times more! I love you so much!" Biles wrote on Instagram.
She began preparing for the 2024 Summer Olympics
After the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, no one, including Simone Biles, knew what the gold medalist's future would hold regarding gymnastics. Many thought she might stop competing completely — her most recent performance fell short of expectations, and she was at the age that most female gymnasts retire. But Biles is a competitor through and through, and in 2023, she returned to gymnastics competition with hopes of making the Olympic roster another time. "That's the path that I would love to go," Biles said on "Today" of her goals. "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."
2023 proved to be another great year for Biles' gymnastics career. The Olympian earned a few more medals, including gold in all-around, balance beam, and floor at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championship. In 2024, Biles continued her dominance, earning more gold medals and all but ensuring her spot on Team USA. As of this writing, Biles has yet to compete in the Olympic trials, but as long as she performs similarly to how she has been recently, she'll be heading to Paris in July.
Simone Biles filmed a documentary
Someone in Simone Biles' position is used to others writing their story for them. Despite all her accomplishments, like any public figure, Biles has been subject to scrutiny throughout her career, particularly after withdrawing from the 2020 Olympics. But about three years later, in 2024, Biles revealed that she was ready to tell her own story with a new documentary, "Simone Biles Rising." The Netflix original documentary details the aftermath of the 2020 Olympics for Biles, what's happened in her personal life since, and her efforts to compete in another Olympic Games. "I never thought I'd be at this phase still doing it, and I feel very grateful. I get to write my own ending," Biles said in the documentary's trailer.
Biles received lots of support for her documentary ahead of its release. Commenters on social media applauded the gymnast for her efforts and shared their excitement for the intimate look at her life. Biles' husband, Jonathan Owens, shared his anticipation, too. "Excited for the world to finally get to know her human side, the one i [sic] fell in love with, not just the competitive gymnast. I'm so happy for you baby," Owens wrote on X.