In the new Netflix documentary “Simone Biles Rising,” the pivotal (and shocking) move by the gymnast captivated the world over.
The “social isolation” of COVID-19 and a case of the “twisties” led Simone Biles to withdraw from the Tokyo Olympics, a new Netflix documentary about the iconic gymnast shows
Never-before-seen footage of Biles and her struggle just before the competition and in its early stages — shown in the first episode of Simone Biles Rising — are now giving fans a glimpse of why the seven-time Olympic medalist ultimately took a step back from the spotlight and took herself out of the competition.
After flubbing a warm-up vault in which she landed awkwardly and then did a somersault, commentators called the moment “bizarre.”
“As soon as I did it, I was like ‘You’ve got to be s—-ing me, like right now, really right now, we’re going to do this?’ ” Biles recalls.
She adds: “I knew from that very moment that it wasn’t just, like, one time and done, cause I feel like you can feel it in your head.”
After her first vault in the competition, the athlete landed and took a huge, stumbling step forward.
Commentators called the vault “funky,” and at a gathering in Houston where her family watched from afar, her mother, Nellie, knew something was wrong too.
“I knew it wasn’t just like, ‘Oops, sorry.’ I was like, how am I supposed to tell them that this is bad, bad?” Biles says to the camera.
All of which led to her decision to ultimately pull out of the competition.
To me it felt silent, almost like death, and if I could have ran out of that stadium I would have,” she recalls. “But I was like, keep it cool, calm, collected, don’t freak anybody out, let’s go over and be like, ‘We’re done here’.’ “
In a poignant moment, the athlete calls her mom back in Texas to break the news.
Yet despite her family and coaches’ support, Biles was subjected to social media pushback as the world reacted to her shocking decision.
But even the G.O.A.T. knew at the time that she made the right move, despite the early criticism.
Having these mental blocks in the gym recently, I’m getting lost in my skills, I just don’t get how,” she tells the camera tearfully. “It’s like I’m so prepared, I don’t know if I’m overthinking, but it’s getting to the point where it’s becoming dangerous, I’m getting lost in all my floor skills.”
She adds, “Afterwards, I kinda felt like I was in jail, my own brain and body, just like, I just feel so ashamed.”
The first two episodes of Simone Biles Rising are streaming now on Netflix. Part 2 is set
to premiere in fall 2024
