Simone Bilesone of the most decorated athletes of all time, closed her time in the City of Buenos Aires this Thursday with an exciting clinic for young Argentine gymnasts who tested themselves and excelled in front of one of the best in the history of the discipline. The 80 local gymnasts, some of them part of the national team, formed a long hallway to welcome the American athlete, who entered the stadium Mary Terán de Weiss, in the Roca Olympic Parkamidst an incessant applause from the 9,000 present, the vast majority of them girls and many of them with their gymnastics clubs. Dressed completely in black and with her usual goat collar (in reference to the acronym in English GOAT, Greatest of All Times), thanked him for the reception and He acknowledged that he had not received so much love from people since his performance at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The objective of the event was for the American athlete, together with her coach, the French Laurent Landiran a clinic for a group of gymnasts between 8 and 12 years old who form Metropolitan Gymnastics Federation and the Confederation of Artistic Gymnastics. The activity lasted about an hour and was led mainly by Landi, while Biles She gave messages of encouragement to the girls, helped them and, at the same time, interacted with the public, who went crazy every time the gymnast looked at the stands. First there was a warm-up and then each group went through the four apparatuses that characterize the discipline in the women’s branch: vault, uneven bars, beam and floor.
To close the day, the gymnasts of the national team gave a brief presentation to say goodbye to Biles, who before leaving answered questions from the young women. Some of the questions were how he managed to get to the Olympic Games, how he deals with nerves in competitions or what advice he could give them to continue doing the sport at an older age. The Olympic champion emphasized constant work and having fun and enjoying the sport.
In addition to this activity, the renowned American athlete took advantage of her time in Buenos Aires to visit some of the most important tourist spots in the city: He went up to the Obelisk viewpoint and rode the tourist bus through Plaza de Mayo, Caminito in La Boca and Puerto Madero, where he visited the Puente de la Mujer.
Simone Biles reviewed her career and left the door open to Los Angeles 2028
In turn, this Wednesday, he led a motivational talk where he reviewed the most important points of his career, reflected on the importance of talking about mental health and He left the doors open for his return to gymnastics in Los Angeles 2028.
At the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Biles finished establishing herself as one of the best – if not the best – gymnast of all time, adding to her extensive track record three gold medals and one silver. She also became the third woman to win the all-around competition twice and the first to do so non-consecutively.
Simone Biles in Buenos Aires 3
However, the award was not only sporting since to reach this achievement he had to go through enormous personal challenges after the bad experience he suffered in Tokyo. “There was a lot at stake for me personally, because I had a lot to prove to myself, but once it was all over, I felt very liberated,” she acknowledged.
came to Paris At 27 years old, a totally atypical age for a discipline mostly reserved for very young athletes, and, in fact, she was the oldest American gymnast in history to be part of the Olympic team.
As soon as the Games began, during the practice session, Biles She suffered a tear that conditioned her throughout the competition. In any case, the injury did not stop him from continuing. and prevailed with the usual authority: he took three gold medals and one silver. “I couldn’t let them say again that I was resigning,” she emphasized in the documentary Simone Biles: Rising, which chronicles her journey to Paris 2024.
In Tokyo 2021, the American arrived as the top figure of the Games after the retirement of legends such as Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt in 2016. The eyes of the entire world were on her and she also carried the pressure of repeating the feat of Rio, where, at 19 years old, she had won four gold medals and one bronze.
Although after the glory in 2016 he considered leaving the sport, he finally decided to return for the Tokyo Games, although he admitted that as soon as he arrived he had bad feelings. “I had been neglecting my mental health, I was very worried about my physique and I put it aside. I remember being on the plane and saying: ‘This is not going the way I want, but I don’t know why,'” she said during her talk in Buenos Aires.
When competing in Tokyo, Biles He suffered an episode of “twisties,” a body-mind coordination problem that affects gymnasts and can be extremely dangerous, and dropped out of the team final after a bad jump. “I decided to put mental health first, because if you don’t, You are not going to enjoy your sport and you are not going to be able to win as much as you want. It’s okay to sometimes step back from big competitions to focus on yourself instead of just getting over it, because That shows how strong you are as a competitor and as a person.”he declared minutes after getting off midway in the team final, in which the United States ended up taking the silver medal.
This Wednesday in the City of Buenos Aires, years after that experience that marked a before and after in her career – and that made her a reference in matters of mental health in sports – she recalled: “I decided to talk about it there because everyone watches the Olympics and there were people who were already experiencing these things as a result of Covid-19,” he said and highlighted: “There is no need to feel ashamed, a person who talks about this is a strong person, with courage.”
After the statements of Biles, Mental health received much of the focus during the Tokyo Olympics and opened the doors for other athletes to express themselves in the same sense.
“Most people cannot identify with winning medals or representing her country on a world stagebut they do understand mental health because it is something we all go through. So if I can help with that, especially the kids, then that’s what I’ll do. “I want to give visibility to the issue.”.
Biles managed to overcome the bad experience she suffered in 2021 and, in order not to say goodbye to the Olympics in that way, she decided to try again in Paris 2024. There she showed that, as long as she wants, she can continue at the top of her sport, which has changed forever since its emergence in 2013, surpassing all limits and forcing her competitors to constantly improve themselves. Throughout his career, he won 11 Olympic medals and 23 world titles and also has five gymnastic elements named after him.
Simone Biles
Although he is not currently training, he did not rule out competing one last time at the Los Angeles Olympics. “I don’t know what I’m going to do in 2028, but I know that I’m going to be there in some way, whether on the ground or in the stands,” Biles said at the Buenos Aires government headquarters.
This afternoon, at the stadium Mary Terán de Weissthe Argentine public let him know that they want to continue enjoying his skill. “One more, and we won’t fuck anymore,” was chanted on several occasions, to make it clear to Simone Biles that the sport is not yet ready to say goodbye to her.
Source: Ambito
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
