Simone Biles Hints at Potential Retirement Date: "I'll See Where We Go"

In a new interview ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games, Simone Biles reflects on her gymnastics career and discusses one day retiring from the sport.

By Elyse Dupre Jun 15, 2021 4:59 PMTags

With the Tokyo Olympic Games about a month away, Simone Biles is continuing to keep her eye on the prize.

"I've already done quite a lot," she told Glamour for its June cover story, "but I'm still trying to reach new heights and see what I'm capable of."

With a combined total of 30 Olympic and world medals, Biles is already the most-decorated U.S. women's gymnast ever. And she continues to raise the bar. At the U.S. Classic in May, the 24-year-old athlete made history by landing the Yurchenko double pike, a move no woman has performed in a competition before. 

Indeed, it's hard to imagine a time when Biles won't be going for the gold at the Olympics. "I'm just really excited to see what's out there in the world," she said, "and to see what else I'm good at."

And while the initial plan was to retire after two Olympics, the Paris Games scheduled for 2024 are already calling. "My coaches Cecile and Laurent are from Paris, so I think that would be a good run to end with them there," she added. "I'll see where we go."

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Preparing for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics wasn't easy, especially after the coronavirus pandemic postponed the games until this summer and shut down her training in Texas for seven weeks.

"I wanted to give up," Biles noted to the magazine. "But it would have been dumb because I've worked way too hard."

She'd also still have to compete for USA Gymnastics, which Biles called "the hardest part." Biles is one of hundreds of gymnasts to say she was abused by Larry Nassar, the former physician at USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University who was sentenced to decades in prison for felony criminal sexual conduct in the first degree, as well as child-pornography and obstruction-of-justice offenses.

Biles' decision to return was driven by her continued fight for change within the sport and calls for answers from USA Gymnastics. "I'm still here, so it's not going to disappear," she says. "We have power behind it." 

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She's also competing for herself and her passion for the sport. And when she does decide to retire, she hopes her fans will look back at her career and say, "Wow, she was actually really happy doing this, and she was good." Because as Biles put it, "I think that speaks volumes."

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