People wrote of Biles, “As 2021 comes to an end, Simone Biles isn’t dwelling on the year that could have been: ‘I fought hard. I survived.’ 🙏 The superstar Olympic gymnast — one of PEOPLE’s 2021 People of the Year — became a champion for mental health as she grappled with the intense pressure of competing on the Olympic stage this past summer in Tokyo. ‘That’s probably one of the first times in my career where I felt courageous and I felt like I had got to speak up for myself,’ she reflects now. ‘[I] definitely can walk away from Tokyo, feeling courage, feeling at ease. And I did everything I could.’”
FILE - Simone Biles, of the United States, performs on the balance beam during the artistic gymnastics women's apparatus final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. Simone Biles believes the post-Olympic tour she headlined proved cathartic. It also served as a touchstone for a movement within her sport and within herself. The 24-year-old gymnastics star thinks the tour -- which will be made available to stream in December -- expanded her horizons about what's next. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, file) (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)Simone Biles (Center) along with 12 other gymnasts will star on the "Gold Over America" tour (John Cheng)WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 15: U.S. Olympic gymnasts Aly Raisman, Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney and NCAA and world champion gymnast Maggie Nichols leave after testifying during a Senate Judiciary hearing about the Inspector General's report on the FBI handling of the Larry Nassar investigation of sexual abuse of U.S. gymnasts, on Capitol Hill, September 15, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Saul Loeb - Pool/Getty Images) (2021 Getty Images)WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 15: U.S. Olympic Gymnast Simone Biles gives testimony during a Senate Judiciary hearing about the Inspector General's report on the FBI handling of the Larry Nassar investigation of sexual abuse of Olympic gymnasts, on Capitol Hill on September 15, 2021 in Washington, DC. Biles and other fellow U.S. Gymnasts gave testimony on the abuse they experienced at the hand of Larry Nassar, the former US women's national gymnastics team doctor, and the FBI’s lack of urgency when handling their cases. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) (2021 Getty Images)Simone Biles: “The scars of this horrific abuse continue to live with all of us”WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 15: U.S. gymnasts Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney, Maggie Nichols and Aly Raisman testify during a Senate Judiciary hearing about the Inspector General's report on the FBI handling of the Larry Nassar investigation of sexual abuse of U.S. gymnasts, on Capitol Hill, September 15, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Saul Loeb - Pool/Getty Images) (2021 Getty Images)United States Olympic gymnast Simone Biles testifies during a Senate Judiciary hearing about the Inspector General's report on the FBI's handling of the Larry Nassar investigation on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021, in Washington. Nassar was charged in 2016 with federal child pornography offenses and sexual abuse charges in Michigan. He is now serving decades in prison after hundreds of girls and women said he sexually abused them under the guise of medical treatment when he worked for Michigan State and Indiana-based USA Gymnastics, which trains Olympians. (Graeme Jennings/Pool via AP)United States Olympic gymnast Simone Biles testifies during a Senate Judiciary hearing about the Inspector General's report on the FBI's handling of the Larry Nassar investigation on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021, in Washington. Nassar was charged in 2016 with federal child pornography offenses and sexual abuse charges in Michigan. He is now serving decades in prison after hundreds of girls and women said he sexually abused them under the guise of medical treatment when he worked for Michigan State and Indiana-based USA Gymnastics, which trains Olympians. (Saul Loeb/Pool via AP)FILE - Simone Biles performs on the balance beam during the artistic gymnastics women's apparatus final at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, in this Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021, file photo. Biles is at peace with her decision to opt out of several competitions at the Tokyo Olympics to focus on her mental health. The seven-time Olympic medalist is happy to spread the importance of putting the person ahead of the athlete, one of the themes of her fall exhibition tour that will feature four other members of the 2021 Olympic gymnastics team (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File) (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)Simone Biles, of the United States, poses wearing her bronze medal from balance beam competition during artistic gymnastics at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)FILE - In this July 14, 2021 file photo, Simone Biles walks to her gate for her flight to the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo as United Airlines employees wave flags during a send-off event for the U.S. Women's Gymnastics team at the San Francisco International Airport. Biles and Naomi Osaka are prominent young Black women under the pressure of a global Olympic spotlight that few human beings ever face. But being a young Black woman -- which, in American life, comes with its own built-in pressure to perform -- entails much more than meets the eye. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File) (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)Simone Biles, of United States, performs on the uneven bars during women's artistic gymnastic qualifications at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 25, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Morry Gash) (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)No description foundFILE - In this July 27m 2021 file photos, gymnasts from the United States, Simone Biles, center, Jordan Chiles , right, and Sunisa Lee cheer Grace McCallum as she performs on the floor during the artistic gymnastics women's final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo. Biles and Naomi Osaka are prominent young Black women under the pressure of a global Olympic spotlight that few human beings ever face. But being a young Black woman -- which, in American life, comes with its own built-in pressure to perform -- entails much more than meets the eye. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File) (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)Simone Biles, of the United States, poses with her bronze medal after balance beam competition during the artistic gymnastics women's apparatus final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis) (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)Simone Biles opened up about her experience at the Tokyo Olympics after winning bronze on beam.
Olympic gymnast Simone Biles appears at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York on Sept. 12, 2021, left, actor Sandra Oh appears at the season two premiere of "Killing Eve" in Los Angeles on April 1, 2019, center, and Dolly Parton appears in concert in Nashville, Tenn., on July 31, 2015. People magazine has named Biles, Oh, Parton and the nation's teachers as its People of the Year. (AP Photo)
