What happened to Simone Biles?
OLYMPIC favorite Simone Biles continues to prove that the past does not define you.
The four-time gold medalist made headlines back in July after deciding to focus on her mental health at the Tokyo Olympics and has done it again with her testimony to the United States Senate on September 15, 2021.
What happened to Simone Biles?
Following the 2020 Olympics, Simone Biles faced an even bigger challenge when she had to address her past in a testimony to the United States Senate.
On September 15, Biles and her teammate Aly Raisman testified about the sexual abuse they suffered at the hands of the disgraced USA gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar.
“My name is Simone Biles and I’m a gymnast who was trained at the levels of the sport as an elite gymnast...
"I’ve had the honor to represent the United States of America in multiple international competitions...
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"I am also a survivor of sexual abuse, and I believe without a doubt, that the circumstances that led to my abuse and allowed it to continue are directly the result of the fact that the organizations created by Congress to oversee and protect me as an athlete, USA Gymnastics and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee failed to do their jobs," Biles said during her statement.
“I don’t want another young gymnast Olympic athlete or any individual to experience the horror that I and hundreds of others have endured...
"To be clear, I blame Larry Nassar and I also blame an entire system that enabled and perpetrated his abuse."
She went on to say that Nassar is "where he belongs" and hopes that her story will prevent others from having to endure what she did in the past.
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Biles' testimony came after an emotional run at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics where she ended up dropping out of some of the events to take care of her mental health.
She previously failed to complete her two-and-half twist vault and landed poorly, leaving suspicions of an injured ankle - only for American team sources to suggest that she left the competition due to mental health issues.
Biles had qualified for all four of the apparatus finals at the time and was set to become the face of these delayed Games.
A USA Gymnastics statement read: "After further medical evaluation, Simone Biles has withdrawn from the final individual all-around competition at the Tokyo Olympic Games, in order to focus on her mental health.
"Simone will continue to be evaluated daily to determine whether or not to participate in next week's individual events finals."
After withdrawing, Biles decided she was in a better place and reentered the competition. She took home the bronze medal in the women's balance beam event and the silver medal in the Women's artistic team all-around.
What has Simone Biles said about her mental health?
Following her decision, Biles opened up about the importance of mental health and hopes to inspire others to put theirs first.
"I have to focus on my mental health," Biles said after withdrawing at the Olympics.
"I just think mental health is more prevalent in sports right now...we have to protect our minds and our bodies and not just go out and do what the world wants us to do.
"I don’t trust myself as much any more, maybe it’s getting older, there were a couple of days when everybody tweets you and you feel the weight of the world."
Biles later revealed to Hoda Kotb on NBC's "TODAY" show that she feels fine physically.
"Physically, I feel good," she said. "Emotionally, that kind of varies on the time and moment.
"Coming here to the Olympics and being the head star of the Olympics isn't an easy feat. So we're just trying to take it one day at a time, and we'll see."
In a letter to Times magazine, she then discussed the importance of mental health and how it affects one's mindset and performance.
"Put mental health first, because if you don't, then you're not going to enjoy your sport and you're not going to succeed as much as you want to," she wrote.
"So it's OK sometimes to even sit out the big competitions to focus on yourself, because it shows how strong of a competitor that you really are, rather than just battle through it."
Will Simone Biles compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics?
The United States Olympic Gymnastics team has yet to select its competitors for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
On May 18, 2024, Simone Biles will compete against former teammates Gabby Douglas and Suni Lee at the Core Hydration Classic.
The three Olympic all-around champions will be considered for a place on Team USA's five-member 2024 Olympic team.
While the all-around champion at the Olympic trials in June 2024 will automatically make the team, a three-person committee will choose the other four team members.
The committee will consider the athlete's results in several other meets, such as the Classic.
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They will face off against each other and eight additional Olympic and world championship medalists.
Biles will also compete in the US Championships in Fort Worth, Texas.