Simone Biles Shares Health Scare on Instagram: ‘Almost Dying Wasn’t on My Bingo Card’
Simone Biles told the world Saturday that she had a near-death health scare this past week, and that she is now resting and recovering.
Biles shared the news on her Instagram story. She said she usually keeps personal medical issues to herself because she values privacy, but she felt the need to address what happened. She did not get into specifics about the cause.
“I’m not one to normally share things like this because I value privacy in today’s age,” Biles wrote. “But almost dying wasn’t on my bingo card earlier this week.”
That is a heavy line from one of the most accomplished athletes of her generation. Biles is a seven-time Olympic gold medalist, including four golds at the 2024 Paris Olympics alone. She is also one of the most followed athletes in the world, and her decision to share this at all says something about how serious it must have been.
Her husband, Jonathan Owens, was in Indianapolis for Colts offseason workouts when this happened. Biles noted how scary the experience was without him there. She did not say where exactly she was, but the message made clear she was on her own when the situation became dangerous.
What we do not know is the cause. Biles said she would explain more in the future. That is fair. She does not owe anyone a medical breakdown, and the most important thing is that she is recovering.
The timing is hard. Biles has been weighing a return to competition for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and recent cosmetic procedures had already raised questions about how serious that plan is. A scary health event this close to the start of any potential training cycle could change the math entirely.
The gymnastics community responded immediately with support. Teammates, former competitors and fans flooded her mentions with messages of recovery. Biles has done that for a lot of people in this sport over the years. The reaction is more than fair.
What this also is, quietly, is a reminder of how much physical and mental toll elite gymnastics puts on a body. Biles has been doing this at the highest level since she was a teenager. The recovery from that does not stop when she retires from competition. It continues for years.
For now, all anyone outside her family can do is wish her well. Whether she ends up in LA in 2028 or not, the impact she has already had on the sport is permanent. The hope this weekend is just that she gets back to full health, and that whatever happened this week is the worst of it.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
