This summer, Simone Biles made her triumphant return to the mat. At the end of August, she became the most decorated gymnast in U.S. history, nabbing her eighth national all-around title at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships in California.
Biles is only 26, but she’s the oldest woman to ever win that championship. As a millennial-Gen Z cusper (she was born in 1997, the year at which Gen Z begins) and an athlete in a sport dominated by teens, she’s been keeping her ears open in the gym and has come to realize just how differently younger athletes approach their careers.
“I've definitely seen a shift in the younger generations coming up, in how we talk to ourselves, feed our brain, body, and mind—and also how we advocate for ourselves,” Biles told Fortune two days after her championship win. “I think it's really nice [that] you can speak up for yourself, advocate for yourself, and learn what's good for you and your body.”
That paradigm shift is vital, because Biles’ generation, as with its forebears, have “kind of neglected ourselves.” Older generations often struggle with a mindset of “let's work, work, work, work, work,” Biles said. “Because that's kind of all we do in America.” It’s certainly the expected approach for an Olympic-level gymnast. But that may not be the norm for long.
Biles has found that younger Gen Zers, and the youngest athletes, Gen Alpha, espouse a more balanced approach both to training and to any challenge. They’ve realized they can “take a step back, focus on their mental health, have family time, and still be the best version of themselves.”
When she talks with younger kids and teens at the gym, Biles says, she’s noticed a clear divide in their generational approaches to work. “I’ll say I did something one way, and they’ll say, ‘I understand that, Simone, and I don’t want to say it was a toxic environment [for you], but you guys didn’t know any better,'” she says. “Now I think [they’re] a little bit more informed and they advocate for themselves.”
Rising from the ashes
Biles spoke with Fortune on the heels of her new partnership with cybersecurity firm Axonius for its Controlling Complexity campaign, in which she symbolizes embracing challenges and hardships. “Who represents that ideal the most? After the Tokyo Olympics, we said, ‘Simone,’” Axonius CEO Dean Sysman tells Fortune.
In Tokyo two years ago, Biles famously fell victim to the “twisties”—characterized by being suddenly unable to ascertain one’s balance and position in the air—and ducked out of competition. Biles was favored to win at least two-thirds of the gold medals she was eligible for in 2020, but ended up withdrawing from most of the events for her safety. Her decision to prioritize mental health over rewards were roundly celebrated as admirable and self-sustaining.
Biles, the third of four children, was in and out of foster care facilities in early childhood. In 2000, her grandfather and his second wife moved Simone and her siblings to Houston from Columbus, Ohio, and formally adopted them three years later. Biles has lived in Texas ever since.
While still shimmering from her awe-inspiring debut at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Biles, alongside tennis legend Serena Williams, became a victim of Russian hackers, who leaked her confidential medical files.
“Throughout my career, I've had a lot of ups and downs,” she says, including one year when she didn’t make the U.S. national team. “What did I do? I went back to the gym. I trained harder, so I could get on the team the next year, and that's what happened. There are always going to be roadblocks in whatever career you go through. It’s about how you think of the outlook, and how you change that. I think that's what I've done a really good job of doing so far.”
Taking a page from her younger peers
Since the dark days of 2021, Biles’ confidence has rebounded—she “feels really good”—and she has much to look forward to—including, ideally, the 2024 Olympics in Paris next summer.
While Biles remains at hard work, she’s learning from her younger peers, drawing on their lessons about separating external achievements from inner fulfillment—and never letting her physical goals come before her mental health.
“Everybody knows that's a long-term goal,” she says of competing in Paris. “Moving forward, I do feel a lot more confident. It's just going back into the gym, putting that work in, keeping my weekly therapy going on and doing what's right for me, and I think that everybody should do that. It just goes to prove that it works.”
Some people, especially younger gymnasts, tend to think Biles’s career has been smooth sailing, she said. “But once you think about it, you see, ‘Oh, that's not the case.’ It’s been about mentally changing our mindset, and moving forward so that we can still thrive in the best way possible, even despite roadblocks.”
