Who Simone Biles Talked To Immediately After Her Olympic Medal Win
Simone Biles made her triumphant return to the Tokyo Olympics on August 3 after missing out on several rounds of the competition to focus on her mental health when she began experiencing what she described on social media as the "twisties." The phenomenon, which is familiar to gymnasts, meant Biles began losing her spacial awareness while conducting her mind-boggling moves and made her extremely susceptible to injury.
Biles has been very open about her reasons for stepping back, but the world rejoiced on August 2 when it was confirmed by USA Gymnastics that Biles' Olympics journey wasn't over just yet. In a tweet, they revealed that Biles and Suni Lee would be competing for the U.S. during the balance beam final.
Fast-forward a few hours and Biles, of course, killed it. The star scored herself an impressive 14.000 for her routine, earning yet another Olympic medal (via NBC News). The star — who's largely regarded as the greatest gymnast of all time — pushed past her difficult week to take home bronze, placing behind China's Guan Chenchen and Tang Xijing.
Fans around the world watching Biles' triumphant return noticed she pretty quickly hopped on the phone after her latest medal was confirmed. But who was on the other end of the line?
Simone Biles got instant support from her family
Despite being thousands of miles away and a 14-hour time difference, Simone Biles' family were on hand to support her as she earned her bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. When asked who she called after fans spotted her smiling on the phone, Biles revealed she was having a FaceTime session with her family at their "little watch party" back at home (via People). "So it was my mom, my dad, my brother, my sister-in-law, my godparents, so they just wanted to say hi and stuff like that," she shared. Aww!
Biles also shared how important it's been for her to keep in touch with her nearest and dearest amid her struggles in Japan. She explained she'd been speaking to her family at night or in the morning via video call, sharing, "almost every day I've gotten to talk to them which has been nice and reassuring."
Biles has spoken out multiple times about why she decided to pull out of several elements of the competition. Speaking on Today on July 27, she explained she felt "good" physically, but shared that "emotionally, that kind of varies on the time and moment." She added, "Coming here to the Olympics and being the head star isn't an easy feat, so we're just trying to take it one day at a time."
There's no doubting Biles has showed us all once again why she's the perfect role model, both on and off the balance beam.