It's an escape and it's also what helps her continue
Three years after stepping away from the Tokyo Olympics to protect her mind, Simone Biles approaches Paris not as a wounded athlete seeking redemption, but as one who has quietly rewritten what preparation means. Under the guidance of coach Cecile Landi, she has woven weekly therapy into the architecture of her training — not as remedy, but as foundation. In doing so, she offers the sporting world a different kind of lesson: that the most radical act of an elite competitor may be learning, at last, to care for the whole self.
- The shadow of Tokyo — where Biles withdrew from the team final under the crushing weight of mental strain — still shapes every conversation about her return to the Olympic stage.
- What's different now is structural: therapy appointments are locked into her calendar months in advance, treated with the same non-negotiable seriousness as physical conditioning.
- Coach Cecile Landi describes a Biles who no longer pushes through in silence — she speaks openly with her team about her mental and physical state, dismantling the old culture of endurance-at-all-costs.
- With Paris qualification already secured and a season debut at the US Classic imminent, Biles enters this cycle without desperation — only deliberate, eyes-open intention.
- The question now is whether this integrated approach — therapy as training, vulnerability as strategy — can hold under the full pressure of the world's largest athletic stage.
Three years ago, Simone Biles walked away from the Tokyo Olympics team final. It was a decision that reverberated across the sports world — a gymnast at the peak of her powers stepping back because her mind demanded it. She had spoken openly about those dark periods: the unbearable weight of expectation, the trauma that made even entering a gym feel impossible. Therapy became her lifeline, a place to process what her body had endured and what her mind could no longer carry alone.
Now, with Paris weeks away, something has fundamentally shifted. Coach Cecile Landi — an Olympian herself for France in 1996, coaching Biles at the World Champions Centre in Texas since 2017 — recently described an athlete who has learned something essential: that mental health is not a distraction from training. It is training. Biles sees her therapist every week, appointments scheduled months in advance with the same rigor as her physical conditioning. "It's an escape and it's also what helps her continue what she's doing," Landi said. Therapy is not something Biles does in spite of her Olympic ambitions — it is something she does because of them.
This represents a real reorientation. Where previous cycles pushed Biles to maximize every training hour, this one creates deliberate space for the mental work that makes the physical work possible. She speaks openly with her coaching team about how she is feeling — no pretense, no pushing through in silence. There is intention here, not desperation. She has already qualified for Paris and is set to debut her season at the US Classic on May 17th and 18th, entering the final stretch with her eyes open to what happened last time.
Landi herself is in transition, recently appointed co-head coach of Georgia's women's gymnastics program after Paris. But for now she remains beside Biles, their bond deepened by three world championship all-around titles and the hard navigation of Tokyo's aftermath. Last year, Biles became the most decorated gymnast in history — 37 medals across World Championships and Olympics combined — not by ignoring her mental health struggles, but by finally integrating them. Paris will test whether this marriage of therapy and training can sustain her through the world's biggest stage.
Three years ago, Simone Biles walked away from the Tokyo Olympics team final. The decision sent ripples across the sports world—a gymnast at the absolute peak of her powers, stepping back because her mind needed it. She had spoken openly about those dark periods: times when the thought of entering a gym felt unbearable, when the weight of expectation and trauma pressed down so hard that training became impossible. Therapy had become her lifeline then, a place to process what her body had endured and what her mind could no longer ignore.
Now, as Paris approaches—just weeks away—something has shifted. Simone Biles is not the same athlete preparing for these Olympics as she was for Tokyo. Her coach, Cecile Landi, made this clear in a recent conversation on the "All Things Gymnastics" podcast. When asked how Biles was gearing up differently this time, Landi painted a picture of an athlete who had learned something essential: that mental health is not a distraction from training. It is training.
Landi, who has coached at the World Champions Centre in Texas since 2017 and was herself an Olympian for France in 1996, described Biles as deeply attuned to her own needs. She sees her therapist every week. The appointments are scheduled months in advance, locked into the calendar with the same rigor that governs her physical conditioning. Landi called it an escape—and more than that, a necessity. "It's an escape and it's also what helps her continue what she's doing," Landi said. The phrasing matters. Therapy is not something Biles does in spite of her Olympic ambitions. It is something she does because of them.
This represents a fundamental reorientation. Where previous Olympic cycles had pushed Biles toward maximizing every training hour, this one has her pulling back slightly, creating space for the mental work that makes the physical work possible. She speaks openly with her coaching team about how she is feeling, both mentally and physically. There is no pretense, no pushing through in silence. Landi emphasized that Biles understands the importance of this routine—she knows she needs it.
The timing is notable. Biles has already qualified for Paris, securing her place as a frontrunner in the sport. She is set to make her season debut at the US Classic on May 17th and 18th. There is no desperation in her preparation, no sense that she has something to prove. Instead, there is intention. She is building toward these Olympics with her eyes open to what happened last time, and with a strategy that honors both her ambition and her humanity.
Landi herself is in transition. She was recently appointed as co-head coach of Georgia's women's gymnastics team, a position she will assume after Paris. Yet for now, she remains at the World Champions Centre, still guiding Biles through this final stretch. Their bond runs deep—Biles has won three world championship all-around titles under Landi's coaching, and she has credited Landi with helping her navigate the aftermath of Tokyo. That relationship, built on trust and mutual respect, is part of what makes this moment possible. Biles can be vulnerable with Landi because Landi has proven she will meet that vulnerability with both technical expertise and genuine care.
Last year, Biles made history as the most decorated gymnast ever, accumulating 37 medals across World Championships and Olympics combined. She did this not by ignoring her mental health struggles but by finally, fully, integrating them into her understanding of what it takes to be an elite athlete. The Paris Olympics will be her test—not of whether she can still flip and twist at an impossible level, but of whether this new approach, this marriage of therapy and training, can sustain her through the pressure of the world's biggest stage.
Notable Quotes
She's really in tune with how she's feeling mentally and physically, speaking up about it, keeping up with her therapist weekly.— Coach Cecile Landi
There were times when I didn't want to set foot in a gym.— Simone Biles, on her past mental health struggles
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
When Landi says therapy is an "escape," what does she mean by that? It sounds almost like Biles is running from something.
Not running from—running toward. The gym is where the pressure lives. Therapy is the place where she can be honest about what that pressure does to her mind. It's an escape from having to perform, from having to be perfect.
But doesn't that create a tension? She's training for the Olympics. Shouldn't she be focused on the gym?
That's the old thinking. What Landi is saying is that Biles learned the hard way—at Tokyo—that ignoring your mind doesn't make you stronger. It breaks you. Now she's building in the mental work as part of her strength.
So the weekly therapy sessions are as important as the physical training?
According to Landi, yes. She scheduled them months in advance, the same way you'd schedule a coaching session. It's not optional. It's structural.
Has Biles said anything about whether this approach feels different to her?
Not directly in what Landi shared. But the fact that she's speaking up about how she's feeling, that she's communicating with her team—that's the difference. She's not suffering in silence anymore.
What happens after Paris? Does Landi stay with her?
No. Landi is moving to Georgia as co-head coach. But they've built something that doesn't depend on proximity. Biles understands now what she needs. She'll keep doing it.