Sportsmanship often builds close friendships among athletes. However, this quality of friendship goes beyond athletes of one sport alone. In fact, it permeates across different sports. A primary example of this is the friendship between the gymnastics queen Simone Biles and swimming legend Michael Phelps. Both athletes have been the stars of the Olympics.

Apart from winning many medals for their country, Biles and Phelps share a unique bond on the grounds of mental health. When Biles quit the Olympics, Phelps supported her and spoke of her courage. He also hoped that her decision helped spread awareness about mental health issues. However, one might wonder how these athletes first met.

When Simone Biles met the 6’4 looming swimming legend

During the Rio Olympics, the gymnastics team stayed along with the rest of the USA Olympics teams. While tensions were high, so was the excitement of meeting other star athletes. Biles recalled how she snuck upstairs to go meet the swimming team. In her book, Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance, the gymnastics legend described meeting Michael Phelps for the first time.

The star gymnast first met American competitive swimmer Nathan Adrian on the pretext of borrowing pins. She explained in her book that athletes often exchanged pins as a tradition. Nathan then took her to meet the legendary swimmer, Michael Phelps and boy was Biles excited!

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“He Was So Much Taller”: Simone Biles Was Scared of Embarrassing US, When Given the Responsibility of 6’2 Tall Michael Phelps’ at 2016 Rio Olympics

Until then, Biles had not paid attention to Phelps’ height. However, when he stood up to greet her, the gymnast was in awe. She stood face-to-face in front of the swimmer, who loomed over her. She recalled the moment in her book, realizing that the swimmer was quite tall. In fact, she wrote, “That’s when I noticed how very tall Michael is: six feet four”.

Watch this story: “I’ll never forget this day”: Simone Biles most memorable day in pictures

Nonetheless, the two stars eventually made their nation proud. Michael also had her back when she dropped out of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. They have not only etched their names into the Olympics hall of fame but have also educated people on an athlete’s mental health. They now continue to inspire people.