U.S. gymnastics champion Simone Biles was recently crowned TIME Magazineâs âAthlete of the Year.â
Following her time at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Biles has made wellness her top priority.
Biles was forced to tap out of several Olympic events after suffering from a case of âthe twisties.â At one point, there was doubt over whether she would return to the global event.
After much soul-searching, Biles eventually returned to the event and won a bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics in the balance beam final. She now holds seven Olympic medals â tying her with Shannon Miller for the most by a U.S. gymnast.
Bilesâ fearlessness and determination still earned her pushback from critics who anticipated her returning home with five gold medals. She faced heartless backlash from fierce critics, including members of the media.
In a recent interview with Net-A-Porter, Biles seems thankful for the experience.
âI think a lot of good things came from taking a different route at the Olympics,â she told the outlet of her decision to withdraw. âI do believe everything happens for a reason.â
âMy self-care routine looks a little bit different than pulling out of the Olympics,â she says. Specifically, it involves âtaking baths, going to the spa, having movie nights with my boyfriend and spending time at the pool with my dogs.â
While some âfansâ and media outlets judged her harshly for the withdrawal, several high-profile athletes spoke out in her defenseâand in defense of Black women athletes in general.
Tennis champion Naomi Osaka was one of those athletes.
âSimone is one of the greatest athletes ever and I admire her so much â on and off the competitive stage,â Osaka gushed to the publication. âWhat she did at the Olympics was incredibly brave and Iâm sure helped so many people who are dealing with similar issues in their own lives. It will be a watershed moment in Olympic sport and will be remembered and celebrated as significantly as her gold medals.â
Biles now recognizes that her life moving forwards have got to be more than âgym, gym, gym.â
She says now she is focused on âmaking sure I have the proper time to spend with my family, my friends and my boyfriend,â and is teaching herself how to just âsit down and relax â because my biggest thing before was thinking that, if Iâm not doing anything, Iâm being lazy.â