2026 Winter Olympics: Ilya Malinin meets Simone Biles after snowboarding heartbreak

The gymnastics legend, who won 11 Olympic medals, including seven gold, was present in the free skating stands and later called Malinin after she collapsed on the Olympic stage.

She has been shortlisted for the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, having won four gold medals at Rio 2016.

But she suffered from “sprains” – a mental block caused by stress or anxiety – and withdrew from events to prioritize her mental health.

She came back to win three golds and one silver at Paris 2024.

The 28-year-old told Olympics.com, external: “I was really worried about what his mental health would be like.

“When you’re expected to skateboard the performance of your life and you don’t deliver, I worry about how it’s going to affect his mental health and how the world is going to look at that. I’ve experienced that firsthand so I’ve really gone into protection mode.”

Biles said they met in Milan on Tuesday after she decided after the final that she needed to connect.

“It was really heartbreaking,” she said. “I made a few points and sent them to him straight away so he knew he had support on a different side.

“Seeing someone and talking to someone who’s been through the same thing and validating that…it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, yeah, that’s exactly how I feel.’ “This is how to overcome or address it.”

“So I think that was really helpful for him.”