Simone Biles is opening up about the role therapy played in her participation in this year's 2024 Paris Summer Games.
In a recent interview with TODAY co-anchor Hoda Kotb for her podcast, Making Space with Hoda Kotb, Biles opened up about how vital therapy and continued, consistent mental health care has been as she returned to Olympic gymnastics and completed the U.S. women's gymnastics team's so-called "redemption tour."
“I feel a lot more free, especially going to therapy and doing those sessions so that physically and mentally I feel better, and I know that's an important part of my routine," she said at the time. "So just staying on top of that, it lightens the load a lot."
Earlier in the week, after the team secured the gold medal after competing in the women's team final, Biles revealed that she started her day by going to therapy.
“At the beginning of the day, I started off with therapy this morning, so that was super exciting," she told the media, and as reported by People.
"I told her I was feeling calm and ready and that’s kind of exactly what happened,” she continued. “After I finished vault, I was relieved. I was like, ‘Phew,’ because [there were] no flashbacks or anything.”
Biles was referring to the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, where the most decorate gymnast of all time experienced what is commonly referred to as the "twisties" and had to withdrawal from a portion of the Games.
“I think, before, I was pushing down my trauma, and now I've learned to speak on it and kind of release that," the eight-time Olympic gold medalist told Kotb. "So that's really helped me, and that's why I'm doing what I'm doing today."
Since the 2020 Games, Biles has been an unapologetic advocate for mental health care and prioritizing one's emotional and mental wellbeing above all else and, perhaps most notably, even when all eyes are on you and it's not necessarily the most popular of decisions.
“I think we used to think of therapy as a weakness, and now I think of it as a strength," Biles continued. "And if there's somebody that can help me deal with what I'm going through, then that's what I need to do. And now it's a daily part of my routine."
