PARIS : Simone Biles said on Saturday that the critics who had taken aim at her for withdrawing from the Tokyo Games three years ago over mental health concerns had been silenced by her winning three gold medals in gymnastics so far at the Paris Olympics.
Paris 2024 Olympics - Artistic Gymnastics - Women's Vault Victory Ceremony - Bercy Arena, Paris, France - August 03, 2024. Gold medallist Simone Biles of United States celebrates on the podium with her medal. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli
"I'm really excited to be competing again. And obviously the negative comments, they're painful," she said after dominating the vault final on Saturday with her signature Biles II vault."They're really quiet now, so that's strange," she added, referring to her critics. While she received criticism over the withdrawal, others praised her for starting a conversation about athletes' mental health and well-being.
"The Olympics is such a draining process for the athletes, and it's multiple days of competition, so you definitely have to be on top of your mental as well as your physical ," she said."As long as we're doing that, then we're good."
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