Gymnastics icon Simone Biles has quelled rumours of her retirement as she revealed she was âworking on my mental healthâ.
Biles has not competed professionally since the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, when she suffered a bout of the âtwistiesâ and withdrew from a number of events.
The 25-year-old has denied she has quit gymnastics for good, however.
Has Simone Biles retired?
Biles, a four-time Olympic gold medallist, responded to retirement rumours on Twitter.
She replied to a post reading: âMy daughter learned that @Simone_Biles retired today and she has cried literally for the last hour.â
Biles wrote: âI havenât retired though ð just working on my mental health.â
The American star even suggested recently that she may compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
âIâm still taking time for myself just to work on myself, mentally and physically,â she said during a speaking engagement in Mexico City. âFor Paris, as of now, I would say, Iâll be there regardless.
âI just donât know if it will be as an athlete or as an audience member, but if I do decide to train, obviously, Iâd have to go 100 percent, so I probably wouldnât hold back. Iâd still try to give it my all.â
Biles also revealed earlier this year that she is still undergoing drug tests, which means she will be able to immediately return to competition if she so desired.
TOKYO, JAPAN - AUGUST 03: Simone Biles of Team United States reacts during the Women's Balance Beam Final on day eleven of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Centre on August 03, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
What happened to Simone Biles at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games?
Biles was expected to add to the five Olympic medals she earned at Rio 2016 whilst in the Japanese capital last year.
But she endured a tumultuous Games, withdrawing from five events with a case of the âtwistiesâ, a mental block sometimes suffered by gymnasts.
TOKYO, JAPAN - AUGUST 03: Simone Biles of Team United States competes in the Women's Balance Beam Final on day eleven of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Centre on August 03, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
"In gym we call it 'the twisties,'" Biles said in a tearful video from her hotel room in Tokyo.
"Should be a better word because it sucks to have them for anybody. And then Iâm starting to get, like, mental blocks where I donât want to go for the skill because Iâm afraid Iâm going to get hurt because Iâm not doing the correct flip."
Biles courageously returned to competition to earn an Olympic bronze medal in the balance beam.
She then took part in the Gold Over America Tour, but has now been absent from the international stage for nearly a year.