Simone Biles’ mom Nellie opens up on Olympics star’s ‘dark and stressful times’ after her Tokyo ‘twisties’

Much has been said about Simone Biles and her mental health struggles during the Tokyo Olympics that took place just three years ago.  Biles has since gone on to rebound back to the top of the gymnastics world – thanks in part to her support system that includes her mother, Nellie Biles.

Speaking to People Magazine, Nellie admired her daughter’s resilience and ability to overcome the darkness that stuck with her after Tokyo.  ‘Everybody knows Simone’s story, right?’ her mom Nellie Biles says. ‘All those times were really dark and stressful times.  ‘To work through that and be in this place where she enjoys doing what she wants, and she is handling her sport the way she would have liked to four years ago and that never happened.

Biles added four medals to her Olympic tally – including gold in the team, all-around, and vault

‘But this is rewriting her story, and I think it’s great. It’s rewriting it on her terms because she is in this place that she really perhaps wished she would have been for years.’  Biles famously backed out of multiple events at the Olympics in Tokyo after suffering from a condition known as ‘the twisties’ – where she lost track of where she was in the air in the middle of a routine.

The USA superstar withdrew from the team event, the vault, the uneven bars, the floor, and the all-around after admitting to a mental-health problem which remains a mystery. She competed in the balance beam on the final day of competition, winning a bronze medal.

She would later explain to fans that she was dealing with ‘the twisties’ – which led her to feel that her safety and the team medal were at risk.  This led to plenty of criticism of Biles, but also helped to shed a light on and promote awareness of the mental health of athletes.  But this summer, her comeback story was complete – winning gold in the team event, the individual all-around, and the vault as well as a silver medal in the floor exercise.

It brought her medal total up to eleven Olympic medals – tying her with Vera Caslavska as the second-most decorated female Olympic gymnast of all time.  She’s already the most decorated American Olympic gymnast and her 30 World Championship medals make her the most decorated gymnast overall.