At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Simone Biles sent a shockwave through the gymnastics world when she declared that she was “having a little bit of the twisties.” For the unversed, ‘twisties’ refers to a condition where gymnasts lose their sense of time and space when they’re in midair. Such situations often end up with them making risky moves, compromising their decision on where and how they’d land. According to Biles, it’s the feeling of being “lost in the air.” Now, after years of struggling with the twisties, Simone Biles might have finally overcome her fear. But does that mean we’ll get to Biles performing the iconic 2.5 rotation?

Well, the possibilities are significant. It’s worth noting that Biles had to quit the Olympics back in Tokyo because she felt that she was risking her safety as well as the team’s medal. While many lashed back at the artistic gymnast for her decision, the USA Gymnastics stood in her support. They applauded Biles’ decision and her bravery in prioritizing her well-being. Losing track of one’s own body and completing only 1.5 twists instead of the supposed 2.5 twists, and stumbling badly on the landing, definitely takes a toll on an athlete. But we can actually expect Biles to overcome her fear of twisties in her next performance. 

An Amanar, or a Yurchenko 2.5 twist vault, is one of Biles’ signature moves. And after the twisties scare, the entire world has been waiting for her to perform the act once again. An account on X recently shared a visual of Simone Biles flawlessly landing a vault at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The caption of the X post read, “Make Amanars Popular Again.”

This seemingly struck a chord with Biles. She decided to react to the vault and reposted it with a quote. She wrote, “me 🤝 amanar. my faavvvv.” It certainly seems like the queen of flips has cured her twisties. But her absence from active competition is still a concern for gymnastics fans. Yes, the 28-year-old athlete might be on the verge of retirement. 

Nevertheless, Biles has already overcome her twisties. She has performed the Amanar in training. But at the Paris Olympics, she chose to perform a much more difficult move—the Biles II, or the Yurchenko double pike. And yes, this move doesn’t really have any major twisting components. So, how did she manage to overcome the twisties?

Simone Biles reveals the professional help that she needed to overcome her twisties

During an interview with Today back in 2024, Simone Biles revealed, “I am doing therapy weekly to keep everything in tune so that I feel comfortable and confident enough to be competing. It’s been a crucial part of my training regimen… I saw (my therapist) about three or four times throughout this whole entire process. It didn’t matter if it was before all-around or after qualifications, I went back to the village and I got on a call with her and did my therapy sessions, because that’s routine for me.”

She highlighted that she had to take care of her physical health, as well as her mental health. And as far as her twisties were concerned, she told NBC Connecticut, “I’m fine. I’m twisting again. No worries. All is good.” 

But as of now, things seem a bit hazy around her next big performance. The reason? She has hinted at retirement on more than one occasion. And that’s understandable. Biles has already accomplished what many simply dream of doing. She has amassed 11 Olympic medals and has become one of the most fan-favorite gymnasts of all time. But all we can do is be thankful to the powers that helped her overcome the twisties.