Find out what the gymnastics superstar is looking forward to after a record-breaking 2023 World Championships
Simone Biles return trip to World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, Belgium, this past week was a complete success as the superstar American won five medals at the 2023 edition, including four golds in the team, all-around, balance beam, and floor exercise finals.
It was her first international competition since the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021 where she withdrew from the women’s team final and four subsequent individual finals to priortise her mental health as she dealt with what gymnasts call the ‘twisties,’ where the body and mind fall out of sync.
In her return to the sport, Biles has repeatedly talked about being more intentional in what she does, especially outside the gym.
“I think I’m making a bigger effort into taking care of my mind and my body, which includes going to therapy once every week, usually on Thursday is kind of like my therapeutic day and try to take a day for myself,” Biles told Olympics.com in an exclusive interview prior to the Worlds. “I think it’s just really important that I’m taking care of my mind as much as I do my body, especially in this sport and outside of the sport, just being real active in that.”
“They’ve been amazing just to keep my mind off of gymnastics, because for a couple of years, whenever I wasn’t in the sport, that’s kind of all I had. We got to hang out, have fun and just like be normal adults,” Biles said of her friends and family back home, after taking her sixth World all-around title. “So, I think it’s been really nice that even when we go back, we’re going to try to go to a winery and stuff like that just to keep it normal.”
The 26-year-old newlywed will also likely head off to meet up with husband Jonathan Owens, who plays for the NFL team Green Bay Pakers. The pair have been long distance since Owens signed the Packers as a free agent almost immediately following their nuptials.
As for what’s next for Biles in her sport, the 2023 competitive season is mostly over in gymnastics. The four-stop World Cup series will begin the first quarter of 2024, but Biles is unlikely to attend. Domestically, her first opportunities to compete could come at the Winter Cup, typically held in February, or May’s U.S. Classic, as she builds towards competing at the Paris 2024 Olympics in France next July.
“Gymnastics is something that I do and it’s not who I am as a person,” said Biles, “and I think it took years to realize that. So it’s kind of nice to break out of that shell.”
