American gymnastics superstar Simone Biles’ three golden moments at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 brought her relief, not pleasure.
“There’s such high expectations on me that I’m supposed to win, so whenever I do win or get whatever medal that is, I feel relief off my shoulder like, ‘I did it. I’m done. Let’s move on to the next,’” Biles told Olympics.com correspondent Aly Raisman Tuesday (6 August) during an exclusive interview.
That’s what she did, moving from team gold to all-around gold to vault gold in back-to-back-to-back finals.
Sure, she celebrated: raising one finger in triumph after the team final and leaping onto the floor U.S. flag in hand with bronze medallist Suni Lee in the all-around final.
But her true joy shone through in the wins of others, as Italy’s Alice D’Amato and Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade claimed historic golds; when training partner Jordan Chiles captured floor exercise bronze.
“When it’s something for somebody else, I know and I see the hard work that they put it,” Biles added. “Because for me, since I’ve been living in my own body, I don’t feel it the same. I know I put the hours in and I know I put the work in, it’s like, ‘Okay, thank God that’s over.’
Though the 27-year-old already holds 11 Olympic medals, including seven golds, she knows there will be detractors who point her missing the podium on the balance beam or collecting silver on the floor.
“People will have to talk, have Twitter fingers, whatever,” added Biles.
She doesn’t care.
Biles sees those as chances to support her peers in a manner she can’t celebrate herself.
“Whenever I see somebody else accomplish it, I feel like that’s the excitement I get because I’ve seen the hours and I wish I could celebrate myself like that,” she added. “But [for myself], it’s just like, ‘Whew, thank God that’s done!’
“But for somebody else, I’m like, ‘Wooo! Let’s go!’”