TNT Sports
Tokyo 2020 - Simone Biles surprised by family as gymnast makes emotional return home after Olympics
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Published 06/08/2021 at 05:47 GMT+1
Simone Biles revealed that her aunt had died unexpectedly while she was in Tokyo. The American gymnast withdrew from a number of events at the Olympics to focus on her mental health after suffering from the "twisties" during the women's team final. The gymnast was surprised by her family at Houston Airport.
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Simone Biles has made an emotional return home after an eventful Olympic Games.
The gymnast was surprised by her family at Houston Airport.
Biles took home a bronze and a silver from Tokyo 2020, but withdrew from a number of events to focus on her mental health.
Biles said that she had been suffering from the "twisties" during the opening events of the Olympics, and also revealed that her aunt had passed away suddenly while she was in Japan.
It was thus an emotional moment as Biles was embraced by parents Ronald and Nellie.
Sister Rachel was also at the airport to greet the gymnast, and described the reunion as “very, very emotional".
She added, to Houston TV station KHOU-11, that it was "good to have her back".
Biles' boyfriend, NFL player Jonathan Owens, is currently at Houston Texans' training camp.
The safety said that he had been "sick to [his] stomach" watching Biles' struggles in Japan.
It had been the longest the two had been apart since they started dating.
"She was kind of in a funk when everything wasn't going right," Owens said to reporters at the Texans' camp. "When you're used to everything going right for so long, and all of a sudden you kind of hit a hiccup in your performance, you kind of get down on yourself, kind of lose confidence. And that was kind of one of the things I was trying to make sure ... keep her positive.
"It was hard for me to really understand what she was going through because I'm not on that stage and dealing with those pressures and everything, but I just try to be as understanding as possible.
"I kind of already knew what was going on beforehand, so I was just really hoping she was going to get over it and be able to go out there and perform. So I was sick to my stomach because she wasn't able to go out there."
Biles withdrew from the all-around, vault, floor and uneven bars finals at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre, three of which are events in which she was the defending Olympic champion.
The American made her return to add a second Olympic bronze medal on the balance beam.
Owens said that he was "proud" of Biles for returning to compete and become the joint most decorated American female gymnast in Olympic history.
"I was so proud of her," Owens said. "Just to be able to overcome mentally what was going on. She kind of altered her beam routine, but I was just happy for her."
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