Simone Biles’ withdrawal reminds us that she’s human – and still very much the GOAT

Simone Biles came to the Tokyo Olympics looking to earn another gold medal or four and deliver yet another stellar performance before potentially retiring. But then she did something her fans had never seen before: She faltered.

She was attempting an advanced vault move known as the Amanar, which she’d executed perfectly in a previous competition. The move involves a back handspring with two-and-a-half twists in the air before landing. It’s a feat for the average Olympian, but when Biles nails it, she looks effortless.

On Tuesday, though, Biles “looked like she got lost” somewhere in the air, CNN sports analyst Christine Brennan said. She nearly landed on her knees and left the field of play close to tears. Minutes later, word came that Biles would not compete with the team.

“Worst nightmare coming to pass here,” Brennan said of Biles exiting the event.

Simone Biles performs on the vault during the artistic gymnastics women's final at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Her departure stunned the sports world and her many fans in the US who’ve seen her repeatedly make the most difficult moves in gymnastics look like standard playground stunts. Biles’ talent and charisma has catapulted her to a pedestal so high and seemingly untouchable that any mistake is magnified, and it’s all the more devastating – to Biles and to her many fans – when she falls.

Biles isn’t one to hide how she feels. After her less-than-perfect performance in the preliminary round Sunday, she said she feels like she has “the weight of the world on [her] shoulders at times.”

“I know I brush it off and make it seem like pressure doesn’t affect me but damn sometimes it’s hard hahaha!” she wrote on Instagram.

Biles, the most decorated American gymnast, defies gravity like a superhuman, but even our near-perfect heroes are fallible. Seeing her slip reminds her many fans of what pressure, however well-intentioned, can do to an international idol.

Biles is seen as superhuman

Biles is the greatest gymnast of all time; watch any of her previous routines and this much is undeniable. She executes moves so complex, so far from anything her competitors are capable of, that the gymnastics judging panel has been accused of dampening her scores so she doesn’t obliterate the competition.

Here is an athlete with virtually no rival; no one has ever done the kinds of moves she can. (Ever heard of the Yurchenko double pike? Not until Simone Biles, you didn’t, because she was the first to ever execute it.) Dozens of articles have said as much in the weeks leading up to her return to the Olympics. She’s such an outsized talent that she’s transcended sport altogether and become the kind of cultural phenomenon that only male athletes usually got to be in a previous era.

Simone Biles stumbles as she lands on the vault during the artistic gymnastics women's final at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

For all the praise heaped on her, she’s generally seemed able to acknowledge it, owning her preternatural prowess without letting the expectations weigh her down. Gone are the days of the Fierce Five, the nickname for the 2012 US Women’s Gymnastics stars that included Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman. It’s all about the 24-year-old, 4-foot-8 powerhouse with the bedazzled goat embroidered onto her leotards.

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But Biles returned to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with something more to prove. She was expected to become the first woman to win back-to-back Olympic honors in half a century. These are also her first Games since former USA Gymnastics physician Larry Nassar was convicted of sexually abusing young gymnasts, including Biles and Raisman. And she’s doing it all without her family as they watch from half a world away.

Biles is so near-perfect that even one missed step is newsworthy. At the qualifying event, she went out of bounds multiple times, docking her score (which was still the highest of the day, given the difficulty of her routine). She knew the mistake would make headlines, so she addressed the situation with candor online. Those comments – the ones about the “weight of the world” on her shoulders – made headlines, too.

The spotlight is stuck on her

Biles can’t escape attention even when she’s off the mat. One fellow member of Team USA shared a swooning TikTok when he saw her from afar. Her celebrity dwarfs that of the other women gymnasts she’s competing alongside. She’s the most visible face of the Olympics this year.

Biles is competing in an age where so much of her life is available for public consumption, with or without her consent. Like fellow Olympian Naomi Osaka, whose own surprising loss occurred hours before Biles’ withdrawal, Biles has spoken about the mental toll competing at the highest level has taken on her, and how she is ready to retire.

“There’s never been a moment in the history of athletics where we know so much about the athletes,” said Cheryl Thompson, an assistant professor at Ryerson University who studies celebrity culture.

Fans of Biles know she lived in foster care until she and her sister were adopted by her grandparents. They know that earlier this year her brother was acquitted of murder charges. And they know that she was a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of Nassar and the other leaders of USA Gymanstics who didn’t stop it.

Simone Biles applauds during the artistic gymnastics women's team final during the 2020 Olympic Games.

Biles is the only survivor of Nassar’s abuse who’s competing in Tokyo, the New York Times reported earlier this month. She told the Times about the damage, mental and physical, the sport has taken on her body, and how she went to Tokyo not for USA Gymnastics, not even fully for herself, but for gymnasts of color.

“I’m going to go out there and represent the USA, represent World Champions Centre and represent Black and brown girls over the world,” she told the Times. “At the end of the day, I’m not representing USA Gymnastics.”

The abuse Biles experienced doesn’t overshadow her legacy because for many years, she didn’t acknowledge it even to herself. She regularly trained at Karolyi Ranch in Texas, where elite young gymnasts like Biles, Raisman and many more encountered Nassar regularly. She didn’t accept that she, too, had been abused until 2018. The weight of that realization spun her into depression, she said, and she’d spend most of her time sleeping – “because sleeping was better than offing [herself],” she said in a Facebook series about her life.

Simone Biles competes on the balance beam during the individual all-around at the Paris Olympics in August 2024. She won gold.

Biles talks with her grandfather, Ron, as she trains in Houston in August 2013. Biles grew up in Spring, Texas, just outside of Houston.

Biles competes on the balance beam during the US National Gymnastics Championships in August 2013. She won gold in the individual all-around.

Biles dodges a bee flying near her during the medal ceremony at the 2014 World Championships. She successfully defended her title in the individual all-around.

Biles, left, poses at home with her grandparents Ron and Nellie, who adopted her and her younger sister Adria, right.

Biles practices in Houston in January 2016.

Biles, right, and fellow gymnast Gabby Douglas stand during the opening ceremony of the 2016 US Olympic Trials. Both made the team. Douglas was the Olympic all-around champion in 2012.

Biles celebrates with her teammates after the US Olympic Trials in 2016.

Biles competes on the balance beam at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She won gold in the individual all-around and the team all-around. She also added two more golds and a bronze.

Biles competes on the uneven bars at the 2016 Olympics.

From left, US gymnasts Laurie Hernandez, Madison Kocian, Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas celebrate after winning gold in the team all-around at the 2016 Olympics.

Biles celebrates with the gold medal she earned for her individual all-around title at the 2016 Olympics.

Biles has her legs held by host Jimmy Fallon as she plays a game called Hungry Hungry Humans on "The Tonight Show" in August 2016. Also playing were actor Donald Glover and some of Biles' teammates.

Biles poses with swimming legend Michael Phelps, Raisman and actress Olivia Munn during a recording of the show "Lip Sync Battle: All Stars Live" in September 2016.

First lady Michelle Obama rests her elbow on Biles' head as President Barack Obama speaks at the White House in September 2016. The Obamas were hosting an event for US Olympians.

Biles takes a photo with a young fan in Houston in September 2016.

Biles competes in "Dancing with the Stars" with Sasha Farber in 2017. They would finish in fourth place.

Biles speaks after receiving the ESPY Award for best female athlete in 2017.

Biles performs with the Houston Texans cheerleaders in December 2017.

Biles competes on the uneven bars during the 2018 World Championships. She won gold in the individual all-around.

Biles soars through the air while competing on the uneven bars at the World Championships in 2019. Again, she won gold in the individual all-around.

Biles competes in the floor exercise during the World Championships in 2019.

Biles celebrates after winning the balance beam final at the 2019 World Championships.

During the GK US Classic in May 2021, Biles became the first woman in history to land a Yurchenko double pike vault in competition.

Biles lands awkwardly while competing in the team all-around at the Tokyo Olympics in July 2021. Biles stumbled on the vault landing and then pulled out of the competition over mental-health concerns.

Biles is congratulated by coach Cecile Canqueteau-Landi after they realized Biles would win an Olympic bronze medal in the balance beam final in July 2021. Biles had pulled out of several events earlier in Tokyo, citing mental health concerns. Specifically, she said she had "the twisties," a mental block in gymnastics in which competitors lose track of their positioning midair. Her bronze medal tied her with Shannon Miller for the most Olympic medals ever won by an American gymnast.

From left, Biles, McKayla Maroney, Maggie Nichols and Aly Raisman are sworn in to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2021. They sharply criticized how FBI agents handled the sexual abuse allegations against Larry Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics team doctor now serving a long prison sentence.

President Joe Biden awards Biles with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in July 2022. Biles, 25, became the youngest person ever to receive the award. "When she stands on the podium,we see what she is: absolute courage to turn personal pain into a greater purpose, to stand and speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves," Biden said.

Biles appears on "The Late Late Show with James Corden" in September 2022. On the right is US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Biles competes in the uneven bars at the Core Hydration Classic in August 2023. It was her first competitive event since 2021, and she won the all-around.

Biles celebrates after winning a record eighth national all-around title at the US Gymnastics Championships in August 2023. The 26-year-old also became the oldest woman to ever win the championships.

Biles lands a Yurchenko double pike vault — a high-difficulty skill historically only done by men — while qualifying for the women's all-around competition at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in October 2023. It was the first time a woman landed the move in an international competition.

Biles celebrates after winning the individual all-around at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in October 2023. By winning gold, she became the most decorated female or male gymnast ever, surpassing Belarusian Vitaly Scherbo's record of 33 overall medals across both the Olympics and the world championships.

Biles competes in the floor exercise during the US Gymnastics Championships in June 2024. Biles dominated the event.

Biles celebrates as the 2024 Olympic team was named in June.

Biles competes on the balance beam during the team competition at the Paris Olympics in July 2024. The Americans won gold for Biles' eighth Olympic medal.

Team USA celebrates as Biles finishes her floor exercise in the Olympic team competition.

Biles shows off a goat necklace after winning Olympic gold in the individual all-around in August 2024. Many consider Biles to be the GOAT: greatest of all time.

Biles competes in the individual vault final in August 2024. She took home the gold, her 10th Olympic medal.

In pictures: Superstar gymnast Simone Biles

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Speaking out against abuse is an integral part of the reason she’s back at the Olympics, but far from the only one. She’s representing Black girls in gymnastics, gymnasts who want to compete in a safer environment and survivors of abuse. She’s representing Americans and women everywhere. She’s there to make them proud. And as the brightest star of the 2020 Olympics, she’s trying to impress the entire world, too.

“The Olympic Games itself is really just about creating heroes out of people so that we have someone or something to look up to and to inspire us,” Thompson said. “I think that’s at the core of the Olympic spirit.”

And when we see someone at the pinnacle of athletic achievement, someone we think we know because she’s shared so much of herself with us, fall and make a mistake, we feel some of that pain, too, Thompson said.

Biles knows this, telling the “Today” show’s Hoda Kotb that she and her team hoped “America still loves us.”

A few hours after the competition ended, Biles told reporters she felt like she “didn’t do [her] job” and let her team down. Her guilt was palpable.

The 2020 Olympics are more intense than usual, but Biles’ time isn’t over yet

She told reporters she withdrew not due to an injury, but to “work on [her] mindfulness.” She talked about how stressful the day leading up to the event was, how she was “just shaking” and could barely nap after her workout. She said she’d never felt that way ahead of a competition.

“I think we’re just too stressed out,” she told reporters on Tuesday. “We should be out here having fun but that’s not the case.”

The 2020 Summer Olympic Games are more intense than usual. For one, they’re taking place during a deadly pandemic that isn’t slowing. Biles’ family isn’t with her to cheer her from the stands; very few fans are there at all.

The Olympics, in the span of two weeks, are a microcosm of the human experience – the euphoric highs, the extreme lows – “the joys of victory and the agony of defeat,” Thompson said. The intensity is part of the draw for viewers, she said, but Biles’ performance on Tuesday was more shocking than viewers had expected.

“The Olympic Games reflect so much of our times,” Thompson said. “And I think this is the perfect metaphor, perhaps, for 2021.”

Simone Biles of United States of America during balance beam for women at the 49th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Hanns Martin Schleyer Halle in Stuttgart, Germany on October 13, 2019. (Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

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The withdrawal from the team competition is not the end of Biles’ Tokyo legacy. Her disappointment was evident in her answers to reporters, but she knows herself well enough to notice when something’s off and when to take time to recover. On Wednesday, she withdrew from the individual all-around competition but may still compete in the other individual events she qualified for.On Tuesday, Biles said she would be taking it one day at a time.

So few people can say they know what it feels like to be Biles, to continuously prove you’re the greatest at something while the world watches. But Biles is the greatest not because she’s never lost, but because, now that she has, she’s reminded us what happens when the burden of expectations becomes too heavy for even the most celebrated among us to bear.

She’s just a human being, after all, albeit one who can fly and flip through the air with ease and break records without breaking a sweat. Biles has given the US and the world a hero to root for – a hero whose mental health needs tending, something many of her fans can likely relate to.