‘I Still Have To Heal’

Topline

Superstar gymnast Simone Biles said Wednesday she has not yet decided if she will compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics, after she dropped out of the 2021 Tokyo competition to focus on her mental health.

Gymnast Simone Biles arrives for a Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony honoring 17 recipients, … [+] including Biles, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, July 7, 2022.

AFP via Getty Images

Key Facts

Biles, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, told James Corden on the Late Late Show she “still has to heal mentally and physically.”

She said she will be in attendance for the games, but is unsure if she will be participating as an athlete or an audience member.

She has not competed since the Olympics.

Key Background

The 2020 Tokyo games were held in 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Biles, 25, shocked the world when she withdrew in the middle of the gymnastics competition. The athlete said she needed to focus on her mental health, and wasn’t in the right headspace to perform dangerous stunts. Biles got what gymnasts call “the twisties,” when you “ “literally can not tell up from down,” while in the air, she said.

Tangent

Biles and other star gymnasts Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney and Maggie Nichols testified during a Senate judiciary hearing about the abuse they say they suffered at the hands of Dr. Larry Nassar, saying the FBI “failed” them in their investigation. Nassar was sentenced to 60 years in prison in 2017 on federal child pornography charges, and was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison in 2018 after pleading guilty to seven counts of criminal sexual conduct. Roughly 90 of Nassar’s victims, including Biles, sued the FBI in June for roughly $1 billion for mishandling its investigation into Nassar. President Joe Biden awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in July.

Surprising Fact

Biles joined teletherapy startup Cerebral last year as its Chief Impact Officer and an investor. Former CEO Kyle Robertson stepped down from Cerebral in May amid a Department of Justice investigation into allegations it over prescribed some medications.

Forbes Valuation

$10.1 million. That’s how much Biles earned in 2021, making her the fourth-highest paid female athlete, according to Forbes.