Ivan Radford | On 25, Oct 2024

Part 2 premieres on Netflix on 25th October 2024. This review was published in July 2024 and is based on Part 1.

“My biggest competition is myself.” Those are the disarmingly honest words of Simone Biles in Simone Biles: Rising, a Netflix documentary following the elite athlete. That honesty was just as disarming several years ago, when she pulled out of the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics due to a case of the “twisties”. A mental block that gymnasts suffer from, it was described by her at the time as her mind and body not being in sync. This candid series emphasises just how dangerous that disconnection can be when hurtling through the air and rotating within such tight margins – and the strength it took to step back from that to look after herself.

We talk a lot about mental health in today’s world. While that’s a fantastic thing, it’s so easy for that to be little more than lip service. Simone Biles is not just a wonderful athlete, but also an encouraging, inspiring example of someone walking the walk and not just talking the talk. That was true in 2021 and it’s true again now, as she lets a camera crew in to openly capture the follow-through of taking that step.

The four-parter begins, perhaps inevitably, with that pivotal moment in her life, and the series does an excellent job of reliving both the hubbub of social media at the time and, in hindsight, the challenge of having to deal with the expectation and judgement of everyone everywhere all at once. So when one of her coaches notes that the twisties is “most of the time unrelated to gymnastics”, it’s no surprise that the strain placed on this impossibly scrutinised public figure might start to show through. “Your body can only function for so long before your fuses blow,” observes Biles.

We see, once again, the brave videos recorded by Biles at the time talking about her wellbeing. We also see her family watching the Olympics at home and realising the toll things have taken on their loved one. We spend time with her and her husband, NFL player Jonathan Owens, as they rediscover a work-life balance that allows time to find enjoyment outside of sport. And then the series moves beyond the mere challenge of balancing public expectation, personal ambition and a private life to explore a darker trauma in Biles’ past.

Episode 2 pivots to focus on the legacy of Larry Nassar, the former team doctor for USA Gymnastics, whose horrific abuse of athletes came to light after the 2016 Olympics. And, beyond that, it highlights the authoritarian, unhealthy attitude within the sport, which enabled that kind of behaviour and thought of training young athletes solely in terms of pushing them to their limits. The cruelty and complexity of growing up in that environment – on top of the toxic standards of a sport oriented around white athletes as the example of pinnacle fitness and aesthetics – is eye-opening and moving to witness.

Director Katie Walsh balances all these things with frank vox pops, insightful archive footage and thrilling footage of Biles in action. Most of all, though, is the compassion in the filmmaking, which manages to humanise such a well-known figure without intruding or exploiting them. It’s exemplary storytelling, finding tension and resonance amid sensitivity and sincerity. The title takes inspiration from Biles’ tattoo, a nod to Maya Angelou’s poem ’Still I Rise’. With two more episodes to come after the Paris 2024 Olympics, there’s not just a sense of Biles doing just that as she returns to compete on the world stage, but the hope that the sport itself will also rise above its previously limited understanding of wellbeing and what it means to truly flourish.

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