Simone Biles suffered from the “twisties” in the run-up to the 2016 Olympics, five years before the condition severely disrupted her performance at the Tokyo Games.
Aimee Boorman, Biles’s longtime coach, outlines the story in her new book, The Balance: My Years Coaching Simone Biles. The twisties cause gymnasts to lose their orientation while in the air, a dangerous situation in a sport where falls can cause serious injury. The condition, along with mental health concerns, caused Biles to withdraw from all but one final at the Tokyo Olympics, where her only medal was a bronze on the beam.
