‘If I don’t make it to Paris, it won’t absolutely crush me’ – Simone Biles on 2024 Olympic Games hopes

Simone Biles has raised questions about whether she will compete at the Paris Olympics, admitting it would not “absolutely crush” her if she did not go to a third Games.

The 26-year-old also became the first woman to successfully land the , a move which is now named after her.

Biles had taken time out from the sport after speaking openly about the mental difficulties she dealt with at the Tokyo Games, when she suffered with what is known as the ‘twisties’, an issue which causes a mental block to routines gymnasts could often do with their eyes closed.

She returned to take bronze in the balance beam competition, but any question around whether she has unfinished business at the Olympics has been denied by Biles, who has seven medals from two previous Games, including four golds.

Asked “so nothing definitive”, Biles then replied: “Correct”.

Biles has and told the same publication that she has been enjoying her return to training more than she expected.

“I owe that to my team-mates,” she said

“I didn’t think I’d be having fun like this at my age in the gym, but they keep it fun. They’ve been bigger rocks to me than they know.”

Speaking about her fairytale return to the World Championships last year, Biles said she felt back in “my element” but that she felt “truly petrified”, adding she “wasn’t as confident or as comfortable as I wanted to be – just taking [the] risk of allowing myself to be vulnerable in front of a crowd competing again was a win for me.”

Biles also addressed the pressures which have built up around her over time, as she became a household name which transcended her sport.

“I think everyone wants to be famous, and then when it happens, you almost hit a wall and you have an identity crisis. You’re like, am I made out for this? Why did I wish for this?” she said.

“I’m not saying that [people] scream and line up like I’m Taylor Swift, [but] I still get a lot of attention. When five people come up to me and they’re rushing for a photo, I just get a little flustered. My anxiety kicks in.

“After [Tokyo], it was kind of depressing until I started therapy and got help. I felt like a failure. Even though I was empowering so many people and speaking out about mental health, every time I talked about my experience in Tokyo – because it obviously didn’t go the way that I had planned – it stung a little bit. But all in all, it was the best decision.”

The 2024 Olympics start on July 26.