Simone Biles Shares Important Mental Health Reminder After Winning Olympic Gold

Following her second all-around title win, the Paris Olympian reiterated her belief in the importance of mental well-being practices.

Simone Biles / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

If the past few years have taught us anything about Simone Biles, it’s that she is strong—both mentally and physically.

Going into the Paris Olympics, all eyes were on the incredible gymnast. Fans waited to see whether she could pull off another Olympic all-around title (and become only the third gymnast to ever do so). Her 2024 season to this point has been promising, and it looked like she just might do it. But questions remained, given her struggles at the 2020 Tokyo games.

By now, the story is well-known. Biles suffered from a case of the “twisties,” a mental block particular to gymnasts which inhibits them from performing high-level skills (even if they have successfully done so before). She withdrew from the remainder of the competition, and for a while after, wondered whether she would ever return to competitive gymnastics.

After a couple years away from competition, though, Biles was confident in her ability to return.

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“I tried to be very intentional about everything I was doing this time around, to ensure I feel comfortable and confident enough to train at a high level, and to simply compete again,” she wrote in a PORTER essay. “And, through it all, my mental health has been a priority; I’ve been keeping up with my weekly therapy and I’m proud of that.”

Since the Tokyo games, her own mental health—and advocating for others to prioritize their own well-beings—has been paramount for the Olympian. So, after she won another individual all-around gold medal at the Paris Olympics on Aug. 1, it came as no surprise that Biles then took to Instagram with a reminder about the importance of mental health.

“mental health matters,” she wrote alongside a photo of herself meditating before competition.

Biles is now the most decorated U.S. gymnast of all time. But she’s still focused on what really matters: a strong mind.