“I know a lot of people thought I failed … but walking out of it was my biggest win.”
of the competition early after experiencing an immense amount of stress. Nearly a year later, she’s confident she made the right decision.
"Walking away from the Olympic Games was a win in itself. I know a lot of people thought I failed because they expected me to go out with five or six medals, but walking out of it was my biggest win," Biles. After winning bronze on the balance beam, in agreement with Team USA’s sports on-staff psychologist, Biles opted out from four of the five finals. The team still went on to win silver. "I had to put myself into consideration for one of the first times throughout my career.
With the world watching, Biles said she had no choice but to “put myself first, listen to my mind and body, what my heart was telling me to do. I had to put my pride aside and say, 'Okay, this isn't going to work.'” The fact that she was quarantined in her room during the Olympics and her parents weren’t able to be there with her, despite having been to every single one of her competitions since she was a child, made the experience feel particularly isolating at the time.