In a world in which mental health issues are on the rise, Simone Biles Rising brings viewers’ attention to mental health, therapy, and the negative ghosts of the sports world. Right from the beginning, Biles honestly shares what her journey has been like, letting the world into her own life and what her struggles have looked like.
The newest four-part docuseries premiered July 17, giving the world an inside look into Biles’ mind, body, and soul, as the universally recognized Greatest Of All Time prepares to make her Olympics comeback.
“If she never competed again, she would, right now, be the greatest in history. And that’s not my opinion, that’s just math,” a commentator said of one of Biles’ performances.
But when Biles attempted to perform the Yorchenko double-pike at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, aiming for the skill to be named for herself, she pulled herself out of the competition. The docuseries follows the journey from stepping off the mat in Japan to vaulting again at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
(Spoiler alert: Simone Biles landed the Yorchenko double-pike at the World Gymnastics Championships in 2023 and the move will henceforth be called the Biles II, her fifth named skill.)
It was the dreaded gymnastics “Twisties,” a word Biles says should be “forbidden,” that she faced at that moment in Tokyo and for months and years following. She pulled herself out of the competition because of how dangerous the Twisties, or getting lost in routines, is for gymnasts — they could find themselves paralyzed, or worse.
“The entire world is expecting her to be the best [like always] … and that’s a lot,” one interviewee close to Biles said.
Biles had to reconcile choosing herself and her own mental health over what everyone else expected of her in 2020. Because when the rest of the world was expecting her to “be the best” — all while she felt like she was “in jail with [her] own mind and body” — many on social media quickly passed her off as a quitter. In interviews during the filming of Simone Biles Rising, Biles opens up about what the experience of social media backlash was like.
But while it makes her emotional to reflect on the backlash, she now can remove herself from that noise. “I really don’t need your two cents,” Biles said of her critics. “And not your two cents, cause you guys can’t even do a cartwheel.”
I really don’t need your two cents. And not your two cents cause you guys can’t even do a cartwheel.
Director Katie Walsh combines beautiful shots of Biles in her element and praise from teammates, family, and mentors, with background audio that creates an inside look into Biles’ struggles. The audio and visuals combine to create an experience for the audience that brings them along for the ride, evoking anxiety and heartbreak while Biles struggles and fears failure.
Walsh brings viewers along Biles’ journey, managing to make the audience feel what Biles felt, even as she experienced something no one else could really understand.
It is because mental health is the reason that Biles pulled out of the 2020 Olympics that the docuseries focuses on it so heavily. But the series also explores issues of mental health beyond Biles’ own experience, delving into the impact of past USA Gymnastics issues and gymnastics culture as a whole.
In 2016, USA Gymnastics national medical coordinator Larry Nassar was charged with the sexual assault of 265 women. The world of gymnastics opened up for public scrutiny and criticism, especially from the players most intimately involved in the program. Not only was there a history of sexual assault normalized to young girls, including Biles, but the program was run by the Károlyis, a Romanian couple who brought military-like techniques to their coaching. The couple promoted the mentality that “if you don’t break, that makes you resilient and a champion.”
The series juxtaposes explanations of those behind-the-scenes events as Biles speaks about her mental health, and how she would push everything down and plan to deal with it when she retired. We follow along as Biles learns for herself how to balance gymnastics with the rest of her life, and discovers how powerful doing so is for her mental health.
Beyond mental health issues, the series looks at why Biles is universally recognized as the greatest gymnast of our time, or maybe of all time, and her impact on her sport. Walsh, and those interviewed, emphasize that what makes Biles so great is how much she has changed the sport of gymnastics.
The series underscores that Biles not only revolutionized her sport in terms of skills and techniques but continued to crack open the conversation about mental health in gymnastics and sports. Because of that, she serves as a role model for her teammates, the other gymnasts at her home gym in Houston, and kids around the world. That will forever be her impact.
Well, that and probably just a few more gold medals. The world is waiting for her to make her grand return to the Olympics gymnastics vaults. But this time, as Simone Biles Rising makes clear, it’s on her own terms.
Simone Biles Rising is streaming now on Netflix.
Deep look at Biles' mental health issues
Beautiful shots of gymnastics and explanations of techniques and skills
Not just about Biles' mental health but about gymnastics and sports, in general
Triggering material, including sexual assault, anxiety, and depression
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