Simone Biles Details Steep Toll 2024 Olympics Took on Her Body

To anyone watching Simone Biles perform, the 28-year-old is a literal machine. But the most decorated gymnast in history is sharing the truth about the impact an event like the 2024 Paris Olympics takes on even the most practiced athlete’s body.

As E! Online reports, Biles recently told with L'Equipe, the Associated Press’ French sports outlet, that “I went back to the village, took the elevator, and my body literally collapsed. I was sick for 10 days.”

In order to get the well-deserved rest Biles—and her body—needed, she flew back home to Chicago, where she and her Chicago Bear husband Jonathan Owens live. But even today, nearly a year after the Summer Games concluded, Biles is still feeling the impact.

“The other day, we were sprinting in the garden with friends,” she said. “I had aches and pains for three days.”

Biles suffered during the 2020 Olympics as well. She famously withdrew from several competitions due to her mental health and what was described as a case of the “twisties,” a mental block that can occur in gymnasts which messes with their spatial awareness.

Given the emotional and physical challenges she has faced, Biles has still not decided whether she will travel to Los Angeles to compete in the 2028 Summer Olympics.

“A lot of people think it’s just a one-year commitment, but it truly is the four years leading up to the Olympics,” Biles explained of the preparation that’s required to compete in an Olympic event. “If I’m going to compete again, I’m not so sure.”

Regardless of what she decides about competing, she will certainly be at the next Summer Games, cheering on her fellow athletes.

Biles expressed her indecision about competing again in an interview with Sports Illustrated from January, after being named the outlet’s “Sportsperson of the Year.”

“Because I’ve accomplished so much, there’s almost nothing left to do,” she said. “Rather than to just be snobby and to try again and for what? I’m at a point in my career where I’m humble enough to know when to be done.”