Simone Biles Breaks Silence On Whether She Will Compete At Paris 2024 Olympics

Simone Biles is aiming for the stars!

With the celebrated gymnast’s trophy case shining with many medals, she is still reaching for more accolades. After taking a year break from competitive gymnastics due to her mental health, Biles returned to the sport with wins.

And most recently, the famed athlete confirmed her plans for the Paris 2024 Olympics. 

On Thursday, the celebrated gymnast revealed her intentions to soar in the upcoming Olympics in Paris. The acclaimed G.O.A.T of Gymnastics was all smiles as she told Hoda Kotb on TODAY of her Olympic dreams. 

Per the clip shared on Twitter, when Kotb asked the 26-year-old whether to place a bet on her participating in the upcoming Olympics, Biles’ answer was positive. Biles said, “Right now, I would say that's the path I would love to go, so I wouldn't mind if you put it in the 'yay' section.”

After confirming her participation in the competition, the newly married gymnast divulged her preparation for the competition. She explained she would be more intentional about her health.  Biles said,

“I think 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, rather than before, it was just 'go, go, go,' and then making time after.”

She continued, “This time around, it’s being intentional, going to therapy, making sure everything is aligned so that I can do the best in the gym and be a good wife, good daughter, good friend, and all of the good things.”

As for her strategy in the competition, the athlete stated she would invest a lot of trust in herself, her teammates, and her coach. She added, “Most importantly, coming in that gym and making sure I'm doing those numbers, repetitions, feeling confident in them.”

Biles’ confirmation of participating in the 2024 Olympics comes a few weeks after she won her eighth all-around title at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships. At the competition, she finished 3.9 points ahead of Shilese Jones, the all-around silver medalist at the 2022 US and world championships. 

Simone’s 8th national title broke a previous record that was set in 1933, making her the oldest woman to win at the championships. Before this win, Biles made her competitive return at the U.S. Classic in a suburb and bagged a win.

The decorated athlete shared her joy on the feat, saying she felt good but still had work. “I still think there are some things to work on (mistakes) throughout the night in my routines. But for the first meet back, I would say it went pretty well.”

While Biles has her eyes set on the Olympics, she recently opened up about her most challenging event to return to. The candid revelation came when a fan asked, “What’s your hardest event to come back to?” during a Q&A segment. 

Replying to the curious fan, Biles disclosed, “It’s always bars… mentally & physically.”She further wrote, “But this go around…. BABY!!! twisting on any event iykyk. Mainly because when the twisties happen, you go right into the gym & work on it…. I took over a year off and THEN came back… So I was petrified.”

In the later parts of the revelation, the 26-year-old athlete guaranteed her fans of her wellbeing. “But I’m fine,” Biles admitted. “I’m twisting again. No worries. All is good.” 

Recall that the U.S. gymnast withdrew from the women's team final at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 after suffering the “twisties.” The Twisties are a terrifying mental block that causes athletes to lose track of their position in mid-air. 

The four-time Olympic gold medalist, during an interview, revealed that after she made the tough decision, she received an “overwhelmingly amount of love and support of outreach of fans, family.”

Biles expressed gratitude for the people in her life. “I’m just very blessed to still be in this position and to have so many people reaching out, showing love and respect for me. It shines a whole new light on the sports and ourselves as not just athletes, but as a human.”