“At that point, there was just literally no way that it could happen. I put too much work in physically, mentally, emotionally. But I mean, we’re human. You’re always gonna think about what if it goes wrong? That was just the little voices in my head.” It has been more than a year since we saw Simone Biles back in any gymnastics competition. The 2024 Gold Over America Tour in November was the last time we saw the GOAT of gymnastics do Gymnastics.

And it is justified, she has given years to the sport, the limits of willpower and body are entirely different. After the Olympics, as he told, “I went back to the village, took the elevator, and my body literally collapsed.” If it’s rest she wants now, rest is what she deserves. Moreover, she seems to be enjoying her time off from gymnastics.

Taking to her Threads account, Simone Biles wrote on September 11th, “im where I’m supposed to be 🤌🏾“. What could this mean? Yesterday, the 28-year-old was in New York at a Vanity Fair banquet, celebrating the 150th anniversary of the luxury watch brand Audemars Piguet, wearing an Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Flying Tourbillon 38 mm. Then she flew to Hong Kong for another event of the watch brand itself. In her Instagram story on September 11, we can see the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Mini Frosted that Owens gifted her.

Maybe what she means by those words is that she is enjoying her life outside of gymnastics. Let’s be honest, the GOAT of gymnastics has given a lot to the sport; she has been training since she was six, and perhaps it was the intense pressure of the competition that she ultimately had to step out of the 2021 Olympics due to Twisties (a mental block that creates a dangerous disconnect between mind and body while gymnasts are airborne). She also found great success outside of gymnastics.

In 2021, Biles teamed up with Athleta to create her own line of athletic apparel, partnered with K18 Haircare to promote self-care, and even launched the Taste of Gold restaurant. She shared her story in a Netflix docuseries and uses her voice to champion mental health and social justice, inspiring people around the world along the way. She was TIME’s Athlete of the Year (2021) after her candid Tokyo moment and comeback.

She was also named on TIME100 lists (including 2025) as one of the world’s most influential people. In gymnastics, she has achivemed everything that she could: the title of GOAT, the most decorated gymnast of all time, 5 moves named after her. And the cherry on top, a loving husband. She is where she is supposed to be. But she does visit gymnastics time to time.

Simone Biles’ gymnastics visit amidst her break from the sport

In the second half of August a fan shared a short clip from the 2021 U.S. Trials showing Simone Biles performing her iconic Amanar vault, captioned, “Make Amanars Popular Again.” The Amanar, named after Romanian champion Simona Amanar, is a Yurchenko vault with 2½ twists in a laid-out position, historically valued at 6.5 in the Code of Points and now 5.4 due to its extreme difficulty and risk. Many gymnasts avoid it, but Biles has executed it with remarkable power and precision. Seeing the tweet, she was bound to reply.

Biles immediately reposted it on X, adding, “me 🤝🏾 amanar my faavvvv,”. At the 2021 Trials, her vaults scored 15.466 and 15.400, combining for 30.866, underscoring her technical mastery and why the Amanar remains a hallmark of her excellence.  A day after this another tweet read, “@Simone_Biles now that everything is quite and Paris was a year ago, can you give us the behind the scenes tea on the Weiler 1.5 👀Like what was the thought process behind the skill and/or if you actually intended to compete it🫶🏻”.

In the Weiler 1.5, the gymnast swings forward under the bar in a smooth motion, then whips into a quick one-and-a-half spin around it. The turn flows right up into a handstand, making it look seamless when done well. Simone Biles would have the first person to it had she perfomend this move but she did not. Why? Replying back she told, “if I made bar finals I was going to compete it !!! soooo close 🤞🏾“. She did not qualify for the uneven bars final. She finished in ninth place with a score of 14.433, just below the qualification cutoff of 15.600.