Gymnastics star Simone Biles has said she’s still scared to perform certain moves, after experiencing a mental health crisis during this year’s Olympics.
During the Summer Games in Tokyo, Biles withdrew from some of the finals events due to a case of the “twisties,” a condition in which athletes experience a loss of spatial awareness mid-air, leaving them at risk of injury when they land.
At the time, she posted on social media: “My mind & body are simply not in sync as you can see here.”
In an interview with theToday show on Thursday, she was asked if she still gets the “twisties” Biles said: “I don’t twist. I do ... my signature moves on the floor, but that’s never affected me. Everything else just, like, weighs so heavy, and I watch the girls do it and it’s just, it’s not the same,” she said.
Interviewer Hoda Kotb asked if it was strange to find herself in that position.
“Yeah. To do something that I’ve done forever and just not be able to do it because of everything I’ve gone through is really crazy because I love this sport so much,” Ms Biles answered, visibly emotional. “But it’s hard. I’m sorry. And I don’t think people understand the magnitude of what I go through.”
Biles also discussed her abuse at the hands of Larry Nassar, the former team doctor of the United States women’s national gymnastics team, and said it may have affected her performance in Tokyo.
She continued: “I’m proud of myself and I’m happy that I can be a leader for the survivors.”
