The Olympic medalist felt like a failure.

Simone Biles, the world’s most decorated gymnast, revealed her emotional journey and perspective on life after the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in an in-depth interview with Vanity Fair.

Biles, 26, withdrew from the Games due to the mental health phenomenon known as the “twisties,” where gymnasts lose control of their bodies mid-air

In the interview, Biles confessed that her post-Tokyo hiatus wasn’t as glamorous as some might expect. She shared that the period was initially depressing until she sought therapy and received help. Despite being an advocate for mental health, discussing her Tokyo experience brought a sense of failure.

Simone made the best decision for her
The gymnast faced criticism, labeled a “quitter” by trolls while supporters tried to elevate her as a mental health advocate, a role she wasn’t entirely comfortable with.

Biles, who clinched four gold medals at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil, returned to competition last year and aims to participate in the 2024 Olympics in Paris. While expressing excitement about her return, Biles admitted she felt petrified despite her extensive training.

Reflecting on the Tokyo aftermath, she remarked, “But all in all, it was the best decision.” Despite being coy about her decision, Simone stated that if she doesn’t make it to Paris, it won’t crush her.

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It was a complicated return for Biles
Following her hiatus, Biles made an impressive comeback at the 2023 World Championships in Antwerp, winning five medals, including four golds. Despite her record-breaking achievements, Biles admitted feeling nervous and less confident than desired during the competition.

With 37 World and Olympic medals, Biles surpassed Vitaly Scherbo’s previous record of 33 career medals, solidifying her status as the most decorated athlete in gymnastics history.

While Biles hasn’t announced her 2024 competition schedule, fans eagerly anticipate her return, possibly at May’s U.S. Classic.

American Simone Biles said she felt like a failure following a disappointing 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Biles was aiming for six gold medals at the Games, which took place in 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Instead, the 26-year-old won a silver and bronze as she suffered with the ‘twisties’, which gymnasts describe as a kind of mental block, in Japan.

“I wish I could sit here and tell you it was glorious,” Biles told Vanity Fair magazine., external

“When I took a break after 2016 [Rio Olympics], I had the time of my life. I was doing anything and everything.

“But after 2020, it was kind of depressing until I started therapy and got help.

“I felt like a failure.”

Biles won four gold medals at the Games in Rio as she won the all-round, vault, floor and team events.

In Tokyo, she won a silver in the team event and bronze in the beam but pulled out of four events to prioritise her mental health as she struggled with the ‘twisties’.

“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,” added Biles.

She returned to gymnastics following a two-year break when she won the all-round title at the US Classic.

Biles went on to win four gold medals at the World Championships in Belgium in 2023 and, in winning her second, became the most decorated gymnast in history with a total of 34 world and Olympic medals.

On making the Olympics in Paris this year, she said: “If I don’t make it to Paris, it won’t absolutely crush me.”

As the most formidable gymnast in history, Simone Biles has effortlessly outshined every woman or man in the gymnastic realm. But her 35 medals across Worlds and Olympics aren’t limited to metal pieces only. The moolah which she rakes in with each medal is a thing to consider too. After a two-year hiatus, when the 26-year-old made a comeback at the 2023 US National Championships, it was difficult to register how powerful her displays were. But now, as the Olympic year rolled in, it’s time for clearing the air. But the question does arise. How affluent is she in the grand scheme of things?

Currently standing with 27 World Championship medals including 21 golds, this year was path-breaking in Biles’ life. Not only that, she had showered herself with lucrative brand deals to diversify her portfolio and become the business acumen queen. But the one question that remains, how much money does Simone Biles make from gymnastics?

Simone Biles’ lucre and prospects
Ceremoniously enough, Biles has emerged as the most decorated woman athlete. But 2023 was especially noteworthy since she made it to the Forbes’ Highest-paid female athletes’ list. And according to that, she’s the owner of $10million, as per December 2022. And according to 2023’s Forbes list, she stands with $7.1million, the major of which has been bagged from endorsements. Biles rescinded herself on grounds of depression in 2020. Biles walked out of the Tokyo Olympics with ennui. But the Olympian doesn’t earn as much money as you think via gymnastics. To break it down, per Forbes, $37,500 for each gold medal, $22,500 for each silver medal, $15,000 for each bronze medal, according to 2022’s report.

Moving on, as per 2016 Rio Olympics, each gold medal held $25,000, each silver medal $15,000 and each bronze $10,000. The 26-year-old had walked home with a cumulative $147,500 from her Olympic winnings. But the 4x Olympic gold medalist credits a great deal of her career success to her brand partners.

Brand endorsements of Biles
Some brands Simone Biles has dabbled in are Athleta, Beats by Dre, Core Power Fitness Shakes, GK Elite, Candid Dental, Uber Eats, United Airlines, Visa, Hershey’s, Kellogg’s, MasterClass, Mattress Firm, and SK-II. Some days before the 2020 Summer Olympics, she terminated her ties with the behemoth Nike. Moreover, the Olympian concocts several sponsored content and advertises her brands across her social platforms.

The most decorated gymnast, Simone Biles has reached heights unprecedented through a decade of her career. With 37 medals, 2 Olympics, and 5 elements to her name, the gymnast has braved through the paths. The stance stands particularly true to Biles’ response to twisties at the 2020 Olympics. Though a momentary doubt engulfed the gymnast back then of not returning to the sport, she continues to tread forward down the path.

Standing tall against twisties and adding accolades to her name hasn’t however kept the fear away from Simone. In one of the recent interviews, the 7-time Olympic medalist revealed that she finds certain moves scary and one taken away from her muscle memory. Nonetheless, the drive still persists in the Olympian.

Simone Biles admits to scary reality
Biles recently appeared on Peacock’s ‘2023 Back That Year Up’ hosted by Kevin Hart and Kenan Thompson. On the candid themes of pop culture, sports, social media, and more, Simone Biles was interviewed on topics from career to husband Jonathan Owens. In line with it, the first segment of the show discussed the gymnast’s comeback for the year and the elements she held to her name. “You have 5 different gymnastics moves named after you, right? Do you have a favorite? And can you still do all of the moves?” Though the answer held harsh truth, Biles answered with a smile.

“That’s funny. I can actually still do four out of five. Like one of them is too hard that I can’t even do it anymore. But we are working on it.” As for the favorite among the lot, a single do not hold the top spot for the gymnast. but rather, the elements are ranked based on how scary they are. Upon being asked the scariest, the obvious one, Biles II rose to the top. Earlier known as Yurchenko Double Pike, the element was the most recent one to be named after Simone and arguably the scariest.

A look at the gymnast’s namesake skills
One of the first skills to be added to the gymnast’s name was the ‘Biles’ on floor. The executive included a double back layout with a half twist. The second on floor is known as Biles II. The move involves double backflip and triple twist. Pushing herself further, Biles on Balance Beam came to be, debuting in 2019. This includes a double-twisting double backflip for dismount.

The next one on Vault is rather complicated to describe and perform. A roundoff on the springboard connected to a half turn onto the vault with two full twists; explains Pop Sugar. The last of the moves, Biles II on Vault was performed at 2023 Worlds. The move includes a roundoff onto the springboard followed by a back handspring onto the vault and two backflips with straight legs.

It’s Simone Biles in a podcast setting again, but it’s not ‘The Pivot’ this time. Since her comeback event, the 2023 US National Championships, the 26-year-old has justified the title ‘GOAT’ before her name. There’s no such platform she steps on and history isn’t made. Currently standing with six World all-around Championship titles, the Olympian takes the most pride in something else.

At the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, Biles jumped in joy, screaming, “I got my 5th skill named”. The 5th skill is the Yurchenko Double Pike, she has four other skills named after her, two on the floor, another in the vault, and one in the beam. Each of these skills have their own difficulty levels. But the real question is, which skill is she the most scared of?

Simone Biles rates the skills named after her
Kenan Thompson and Kevin Hart hosted the 7x Olympic medalist in an exclusive episode of 2023 Back That Year Up. While she talked about her love life with her husband, she also offered glimpses of her gymnastic world. When Thompson started his speech with “You’ve five gymnastics skills named after you”, the obvious question that followed was “do you have favorite move?” Biles’ expression looked like she already knew what was coming her way. She unhesitantly answered, “I don’t really have a favorite. I guess they’re scary to most scary”. But the moment everyone waited for, she finally spilled, “the scariest I think is the Biles II on vault”.

Let’s go back to October and relive her 5th skill naming moment. But before that, the fall on the podium training day had initially left her success in suspension. In Antwerp, Belgium, she emerged as the most decorated gymnast of all time, mainly because she could ace the ‘scary’ routine like a pro, putting aside her fears. But the world didn’t fail to capture her teary-eyed moment, which came with notes of gratitude.

Biles’ elation knew no bounds
Since her first World Championships victory came in Antwerp a decade ago, her recent win brought the story to a full circle. She had said, “World championships!!!!! Whew Antwerp will always hold a special place in my heart.” But her following statement stood as a testament to her dedication towards gymnastics. Said, “I’m speechless. I’m honored. I’m excited and I’m blessed! Doing it for the little girl who fell in love with the sport!!!!!”

On her plethora of history-making podiums, she had extended notes of gratitude, saying, “I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to fans, friends, family & partnerships who have been unwavering pillars of support throughout my mental health journey.” For someone who didn’t fathom a comeback after the Tokyo Olympics setback, is looking forward to another Olympics now.