Simone Biles absolutely crushed it at the 2024 Olympics. However, despite the medal haul she had a tough time at the epic event and, at the closing ceremony appeared to be wearing a medical boot.
While she’s one of the most incredible female gymnasts, Biles talks to her fans like they’re her friends and always opens up about what she’s going through. Since she’s known as such a genuine person (who just happens to be an awe-inspiring athlete capable of some feats others can only dream of), fans want to know everything about her, including whether she’s injured.
Did Simone Biles hurt her leg at the 2024 Olympics?
While cheering Biles on at the 2024 Olympics as she won four medals (yay!), people saw she had a boot on. According to NBC, her calf began hurting when she was warming up on July 28th, 2024. She had tape on her ankle and calf and as fans know, still blew everyone away during her various events. Since she had this “minor injury,” she wore a boot to make sure it didn’t get any worse. There have been other injuries at the games this year, as Colin Jost hurt himself surfing while covering the sport in Tahiti.
Fans are of course glad that Biles isn’t seriously hurt, but it’s hard not to worry about the physical toll of her career. While some athletes might plan for a nice long break after the Olympics, which is intense and exhausting (to say the least!), Biles is going on her “Gold Over America Tour” in fall 2024. She mentioned that she’s taking time to relax and make sure she’ll be in fine form for her tour (which fans definitely don’t doubt). According to NBC.com, the gymnast explained that “elite athletes are pretty tough” and added “through pain or pleasure, we’re ready for whatever.”
This isn’t the first time that Biles has hurt herself… and it might not be the last considering how rough gymnastics can be. In an interview with The Daily Mail in 2019, she talked about having had a broken rib, a terrible toe injury, and having partially torn her calf more than once. She said her body “is screaming and yelling at me” and that she feels pain as soon as she opens her eyes in the morning.
Biles is beloved for being honest about her mental health struggles, and if she were seriously injured, she would have likely admitted it. She is aware of her massive platform and raised awareness of mental health in sports when she decided not to be part of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She told Good Housekeeping in 2022 that she had to look after herself “rather just go out there and do what the world wants us to do and potentially injuring yourself.” She added, “I had to put myself above all else.”
Of course, if any athlete can handle a packed schedule and get over a calf injury, we’d say it was Biles.