The greatest American gymnast of all-time might be ready to put the sport in her rearview.
Simone Biles wistfully discussed the possibility of retirement in the fourth episode of her Netflix documentary series, Simone Biles Rising, which dropped Friday, October 25.
“At this moment in my career, I feel like if I had to process it, it would be bittersweet,” Biles, 27, said after the conclusion of the 2024 Paris Olympics. “I mean, we’ve been longing for this for a while now and now it’s here. It’s gone.”
Biles admitted to feeling “a lot of relief” at the end of the Summer Games, but acknowledged that she’s now faced with the daunting task of figuring out what comes next.
Simone Biles Doesn’t Want to Hear ‘What’s Next?’ After Olympic Medal Win
“Now I’m like, ‘Oh my god,’” she said. “Like, what happens in life now?”
While Biles — who won four medals, including three gold, in Paris — didn’t definitively announce the end of her gymnastics career, she did speak about it in the past tense.
“What I’ll miss most about gymnastics is the freedom with my body,” she said. “The ability that I have in the gym is not normal. But I’ve had to work in other areas of my life and that’s taught me the lessons and brought me to be who I am today.”
Biles added, “If I look back at my career, honestly, the thing I’d be most proud of is staying true to myself and never swaying from that.”
After pulling out of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, citing mental health reasons, Biles made no secret that Paris was a chance at personal and professional redemption. Still, she said that along the way, she made sure to “enjoy each and every moment.”
“We took it one day at a time,” she said, “and for that I’m grateful.”
During the final episode’s end credits, Biles gives a tour of the home she built with her husband and Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens, where she dropped a hint about a future career shift — even if she’s still searching for the answers.
“So, here’s my office,” Biles showed off. “Who knows what I’ll be doing in here? I’m not sure. I just know that there will be a desk and a computer to Google things.”
As for the retirement talk, Simone Biles Rising director Katie Walsh said she left the series open-ended for a reason.
Simone Biles Says Her Younger Self Would Be ‘Proud’ of 11 Olympic Medals
“You know, it’s just truthful,” Walsh told Athlon Sports in a story published Thursday, October 24. “Your guess is as good as mine on that. I think there was a time where I was like, ‘Oh, she’ll definitely be back [at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles]. I always joke that I’ll be babysitting her kids and she’ll be competing and winning gold medals.”
Walsh added, “I don’t know if she’ll come back or not. I truly don’t know. She has so much to look forward to in her life outside of just the actual competitive side of gymnastics. I have no doubt there’s going to be so many great things she’s going to do.”
If Biles does retire, she would go down as the most decorated Olympic gymnast in Team USA history with 11 total medals, including 7 golds, which is tied for the second-most internationally of all-time.
All four episodes of Simone Biles Rising are available to stream now on Netflix.
