She may be the most decorated American gymnast ever, but life off of the balance beam can be a bit unsteady for Simone Biles.
With the Tokyo Olympics just two weeks away, all eyes are on the 24-year-old Texan, who has continued to set the bar for success as she dominates the sport. After all, she has four gymnastics moves named after her. If there was any remaining doubt, peep the "GOAT" title on her brand new Sports Illustrated cover—shared exclusively with E! News—below.
Still, it sounds like her dozens of gold medals, accolades and impressive titles can weigh heavily on the star—especially considering she's only in her twenties and, like most of her contemporaries, still finding her way. "I try not to be so hard on myself because I'm like, O.K., if I were in school and graduated, I feel like I'd be struggling with them, trying to find a job, trying to find out who I am, so it kind of eases my mind," she told Sports Illustrated. "We're just all struggling to find out who we are and what we're good at, rather than what society tells us what we need to do."
With her remarkable early success comes even more pressure. "It sucks when you reach your peak at 23, 24, you know?" she acknowledged. "Because it's all downhill from there."
Fighting that downturn is "a big task," she added. "Making sure it goes up from there."
But recent challenging times—including the postponement of the Olympics amid the coronavirus pandemic—have doubled as formative experiences for Biles.
"I kind of let myself go through the emotions," she recalled of learning the Olympics would be pushed back a year. "Sad, mad, angry, pissed off, hysterical—all of the phase. And that's the first time in my life I've ever felt the emotions rather than somebody coming up to me and telling me, 'Hey, it's gonna be O.K.' I got to relish in all of those emotions and phases myself."
Amid recent events, like the increased momentum of the Black Lives Matter movement and election of President Joe Biden, the gymnast has noticeably joined the public conversations. "I feel like I found my voice a little bit more," she told Sports Illustrated. "That's also scary because people expect you to speak out, and sometimes it can be triggering, it can be hard, but I also know I'm helping other people out there, and that's why I do it."
The new issue of Sports Illustrated featuring Simone Biles is on newsstands now. For her full interview, also visit SI.com on July 12.