Simone Biles Rising offers an inspiring and insightful view into the enigmatic gymnast’s journey to the Paris Olympics, but also looks at the issues of age and early retirement in the sport. Simone Biles is recognized as one of the most successful gymnasts in history, but she faced struggles with her physical and mental health that impacted her performances. The Netflix documentary series examines her withdrawal from the competition at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and how she overcame her physical and mental traumas in order to compete at the 2024 Paris games.

In the two-part documentary, Biles opens up about the struggles she endured which brought about her decision to leave the Tokyo games and the backlash she faced following her decision to prioritize her mental health over winning an Olympic medal. Reviews of Simone Biles Rising have called it a structured and emotional tale of the immense pressure Biles was feeling at the games and her eventual return to glory. The docuseries also examines the issues of a competitor’s age at the Olympics and the questions of early retirement from competition.

At Age 46 In Tokyo 2020, Oksana Chusovitina Became The Oldest Female Gymnast To Compete In The Olympics

Oksana Chusovitina Competed in Eight Olympics Across Her Career

In the documentary series, Simone Biles discusses her experiences at the Olympics and the mental struggles she faced when she decided to withdraw from the 2020 games. Across her gymnastics career, Biles has competed in four Olympic Games, and has won a total of 11 Olympic medals in both singles and team competitions, including four at the 2024 Paris Games. Her success in Paris made Biles the oldest gymnast to represent the United States at the Olympics since the 1952 Helsinki Games, where Marie Margaret Hosely competed at the age of 35 (via USA Today).

Oksana Chusovitina remains the only gymnast in history to compete in eight Olympic Games across four decades.

In Tokyo 2020, Uzbek gymnast Oksana Chusovitina set a record by becoming the oldest female gymnast to compete in the Olympics, at the age of 46. Throughout her career, Chusovitina represented three different countries – Uzbekistan, Germany, and the Unified Team – and won two medals in 1992 and 2008. Although she wasn’t successful in placing at the 2020 Games, Oksana Chusovitina remains the only gymnast in history to compete in eight Olympic Games across four decades.

Screen Rant interviews director Katie Walsh about Simone Biles Rising part 2 and following the gymnast on the road to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

What Age Female Olympian Gymnasts Usually Retire At & Why

Gymnasts Usually Retire At A Younger Age Than Other Athletes

Since the 2024 Paris Games, rumors of Simone Biles’ potential retirement from competitive gymnastics have been shared. The talented gymnast has not made any confirmation about retirement but in an interview with Reuters, she stated that she “is really getting old” in terms of participating in competition. At the event, Simone Biles was the oldest member of the gymnastics team representing the United States; her team members, Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Hezley Rivera were all between the ages of 16 and 24 during the games.

Female Olympian gymnasts usually retire from competition when they reach their mid-twenties; only a few competitors, such as Germany’s Kim Bui and Italy’s Vanessa Ferrari have continued gymnastics into their thirties. A study by Synergy Gymnastics shows that the average age of a female Olympic gymnast is 20 years old. The study also points out the high demand that the sport of gymnastics has for an athlete, both physically and mentally, which is what impacted Biles throughout her gymnastics career. Given the young age of retirement for female gymnasts, it would be understandable if Biles did decide to take a step back from competition at this stage.

She Is Regarded As One Of The Greatest Gymnasts Of All Time

The question of retirement for Biles has increased since the 2024 Paris Games; she was 27 at the time of competing, significantly older than similar Olympic gymnasts. In the docuseries, Biles expresses that at the age of 27, her body is “on a ticking time bomb” in terms of her abilities at the games. Biles’ success and age at the Olympics has been compared to other successful gymnasts, including Nadia Comaneci, Mary Lou Retton, and Aly Raisman, who all retired before the age of 25.

It should be noted that Simone Biles is close in age to Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina, who won a record 18 Olympic medals between 1956 and 1964.

However, it should be noted that Simone Biles is close in age to Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina, who won a record 18 Olympic medals between 1956 and 1964. Latynina competed in the 1964 Olympic Games at age 29, where she won 6 medals; she continued competing professionally until her early thirties (via The New York Times). The question of whether Simone Biles will continue to compete or not remains under debate, but as Simone Biles Rising shows, she is at a better stage in her life than she was at the 2020 Tokyo Games.