Simone Biles is one of history’s most decorated athletes, earning a total Olympic medal count of seven golds, two silver and two bronze. However, that certainly hasn’t made the prodigy immune to injury. During the 2024 Paris Olympics, Biles suffered a calf strain slash tear, a painful diagnosis. The injury was in the same calf that had previously torn while training for the Olympics.
The gymnast legend fortunately didn’t stop her from competing and continuing to make history. Here’s how Biles confronted her injury and still came out a winner.
What Was The Athlete’s Injury?
Biles, 27, trained hard for the Olympics, hoping it’d be a redemption for the previous Tokyo Games where she struggled with the “twisties.” During training, she suffered a few injuries, including a hyperextended knee and a calf muscle tear. However, it wasn’t until she was actually competing that things got intense.
During day one of the gymnastics qualifiers, Biles did her classic triple-double vault, dubbed the Biles II. However, as soon as she took off, she felt a concerning pain in her leg.
“I was like, ‘Ooh, oh. That hurt really bad. That didn’t feel right,'” she said in her docuseries. “I just felt, like, a weird sensation in my calf muscle. Whenever something like that happens, you’re so terrified. An injury can happen to any of us at any point.”
She was then seen crawling on the mat to avoid putting pressure on her leg, worrying onlookers. Though Biles shared that she was worried she had torn her Achilles, her coach Landi diagnosed her with a strain slash tear. This refers to an injury where a muscle or tendon is either overstretched or torn, essentially meaning damage to the tissue connecting muscle to bone. Therefore, the celebrated athlete stretched and wore a compression sleeve on her calf to compete.
Simone Biles Recovery
Both physical and mental health therapy aided Biles in getting through her injury. Biles shared that she was afraid people would see her as a quitter, traumatized by her experience during the Tokyo Games.
“As soon as I got off the floor, I was like, ‘People are gonna think I’m quitting again,’” she said.
Biles did her best to find humor in the trying moment, joking that she’s “old for a gymnast,” which makes her a “ticking time bomb” for injuries. While she was seemingly teasing, Biles has hinted at retirement previously, as she nears her 30s and enjoys married life with husband Jonathan Owens.
The injury did not impact her performance, leaving the world in awe as she outperformed every athlete around her. She left Paris with three more gold medals, one more silver medal and the knowledge that nothing can stop her from being the greatest.