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All eyes were on Simone Biles as she announced her return to the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
She'd withdrawn from several competitions due to mental health concerns, but as soon as Simone felt she was ready, she came back better than ever! Today we woke up to new that Biles won the bronze medal in the individual balance beam final. Yes, she has four golds, but this bronze meant more than all of that for her, "It means more than all the golds because I've pushed through so much the last five years and the last week while I've even been here," Biles said in an interview with TODAY. "It was very emotional, and I'm just proud of myself and just all of these girls, as well." She also revealed her mental health wasn't the only thing that caused her to back out of competitions citing a case of the "twisties," when gymnasts lose awareness of where they are in a skill while in mid-air, making it difficult to land safely.
One thing Biles highlighted for us is how much of a toll your mental health can take on you. This is especially true if you're an athlete. A lot of people minimized her decision to withdraw because she was "at no risk, and mental health isn't a serious issue, that it was basically a cop out." However, we all know if you aren't there mentally, you can't perform 100% physically. So, hats off to this Olympian for putting her mental health first and congrats, girl!