Summary
Ahead of the Paris Olympics,Simone Biles Risingtells the decorated U.S. gymnast’s comeback story following backing out of the Tokyo Olympics four years ago. Simone Biles holds the mostOlympic medalsof any gymnast. However, mounting physical and mental stress led to an upsetting night for Biles at the Olympics in 2020.The newNetflix docuseriesshowcases the personal and professional changes Biles has made over the past few years before she heads to Paris,set against the story of her rise to becoming the best gymnast in history in a toxic environment of women’s gymnastics.
Simone Biles Rising Is A Well-Structured Series About Biles’ Life & Comeback
Simone Biles Risingopens with a recap of the fateful night that changed the course of her career:In 2020, Biles and her team headed to Tokyo for the Olympics, amid numerous COVID-19 restrictions,including their families not being able to travel with them. Biles took to the floor and delivered a disappointing performance in the vault final. The docuseries reveals much about the immense pressure Biles felt at that time, prompting her to pull out of most of the rest of the Olympics. Biles faced widespread backlash, criticizing her for walking out on her team.
The docuseries reveals much about the immense pressure Biles felt at that time, prompting her to pull out of most of the rest of the Olympics.
Simone Biles Risingwants to tell a comeback story but manages to effectively intertwine it with a standard documentarycovering Biles’ life and career. Starting with Tokyo before going into the beginning of Biles’ work towards Paris andthencovering her childhood, early career, and other personal details works well. Placed at strategic intervals are interviews with other gymnasts, such as Dominique Dawes and Biles’ current teammates, which serve as an effective segue into bigger points about the environment of elite American gymnastics and how it all affected Biles’ recent decisions.
Simone Biles Rising Powerfully Imparts Biles’ Perspective When Receiving A Lot Of Criticism
Concerning the Tokyo Olympics,Simone Biles Risingdoes its job of showcasing Biles’ perspective of this moment, if people out there still think her choices need to be“justified.”This is largely due to the openness of Biles and her family members in interviews.Through her decisions in Tokyo, Biles prompted a bigger discussion about mental health in professional athletics, and this docuseries is an effective continuation of that. It especially helps underscore Biles’ testimony with a detour into recapping Kerri Strug’s 1996 victory, and how her competing with an injury was not representative of a good support system.
Simone Biles Rising’s most saddening moments talk not just about Biles’ life, but about other gymnasts like her. The docuseries covers a history of injustices: Biles and other Black female gymnasts were heavily critiqued about their appearance and held to racist beauty standards, despite their stellar athletic performances. Additionally, Biles is one of the many victims of American gymnastics ignoring and covering up a USA Gymnastics physician sexually assaulting the young gymnasts. These events prove that the sport has long ignored the well-being of its athletes, andBiles’ adjustments are representative of long-overdue changes.
Simone Biles Rising’s Timing Adds Another Layer To The Story
Biles continuously finds support in her family and team,and enjoys some moments of normalcy, like attending an NFL game to cheer on her husband. The mix of Biles talking about the most tragic parts of life and the simplest things that make her happy come together in an emotional docuseries about rediscovering her love for gymnastics and prioritizing her mental health as she prepares for another Olympics. The release is just weeksahead of the start of the Paris Olympics, which highlights that the story is not over.
The fact that the documentary does not yet know if Biles will walk away from Paris with one or several more gold medals underscores its message.
While Biles has done well at recent competitions,Simone Biles Risingshows how, win or lose, Biles is taking care of herself, as all athletes like her should. The fact that the documentary doesn’t yet know if Biles will walk away from Paris with one or several more gold medals underscores its message. The release date for part 2 of the series is unconfirmed, suggesting that it will incorporate what happens at the Olympics into the second half of the story. The world is holding its breath as the Paris Olympics begin, butBiles is in better form than ever.
Simone Biles Risingis now available to stream on Netflix. The docuseries consists of four episodes.
Simone Biles: Rising
Cast
After stepping away from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics due to mental health struggles, Simone Biles embarks on a transformative journey. The docuseries follows her as she overcomes past traumas, rebuilds her gymnastics skills, and prepares for a triumphant return to the Olympic stage in Paris.
