Simone Biles is a role model and even an icon. On the one hand, thanks to the 32 medals he won together at the Olympics and the World Championships – this is the sports part of it. Then come the other aspects.
Four years ago, it was revealed that Biles was also the victim of the predator of American gymnast, team doctor Larry Nassar, who over the years sexually molested young girls who appeared in the national squad, including Biles. Nassar faces a life sentence.
Biles testified before the Senate Legal Committee last week along with several of his colleagues at the satirical alumni hearing.
The gymnast cried as Nassar did to her.
It’s also a recent event as Biles wore a sultry evening gown to the Video Music Awards and the Met Gala among many celebrities.
And Time magazine named him one of the most influential people of 2021, in the Titans category.
(One of the most influential hundreds is Hungarian, Dorottya Rédai, Fairy Tale for Everyone Book Project Coordinator.)
In the meantime, we don’t know if Biles is an active gymnast just yet or has actually finished his racing career. For now, he’s raising the possibility of a sequel, although many believe it was a swan song for Tokyo, claiming that on the one hand he lost his sense of balance and on the other he couldn’t stand the superhuman pressure on him, he backed out of team competitions and solo formation. (True, he later appeared in the singles final of the beam and won a bronze medal.)
What happened in Tokyo in the liberal part of the American media (New York Times, Washington Post, CNN) sparked understanding and sympathy, and was openly celebrated as a hero, because Biles had the courage to step back from the races and consider his health. His life is more important than chasing more medals.
At the same time, conservative television channels such as FOX have interpreted Biles’ resignation as a weakness and translated it by abandoning his fellow athletes.
Either way, Biles had a hard day during and after the Olympics, wanting nothing more than to go home with his loved ones and be calm and relaxed. After a short break, however, the concert, obligatory performances, and, as if that weren’t enough, launched his 35-city tour with the Tuscon Show on Wednesday, A tour around gold in America series called.
Which can be seen in two ways: on the one hand, as the glorified sportsman, and on the other, as the huge Hagney.
Because we are talking about difficult work. Although the 2016 Rio Olympics series, featuring Biles’ name—which covered 36 cities—was run by the American Gymnastics Association and the proceeds went to the American Gymnastics account, the current Gold Over America Tour is produced by Biles himself. It also has a payoff. The amount of money pouring in is not yet known, but the first performance went with an entire house in Tucson, Arizona, and ticket prices ranged from $20 to $145.
The tour will also include huge sports halls such as the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, which seats 19,000, or the legendary TD Garden in Boston (19,580 people).
Biles told the Los Angeles Times that what he thought happened to him in Tokyo would not only diminish audience interest, but on the contrary: it could contribute to the tour’s financial success.
Beals on one of America’s most-watched talk shows, Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC! He promoted his tour of the show.
The show is amazing, by the way, and features some of the best American gymnasts today, all members of the Rio and Tokyo teams, and even Catelyn Ohachit who also defeated Biles at the age of 15 at the time who later became a social media favorite with his amazing down-to-earth practice:
And now what? Bills Dodona answered a reporter’s question at the Met Gala:
Since the Tokyo Olympics, all I’ve had is time for health, fitness, and getting ready for the Tour. I’m pretty sure I won’t start at the World Cup in October, and I haven’t even decided if I’ll be in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
But what is certain is that he is no longer dependent on anyone, including the Alliance. He’s his master, the producer of his own show, and he’s shaping his life himself.
(Cover Photo: Simone Biles At the Tokyo Olympics on July 27, 2021. Photo: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images
