"The wind was going to blow me over" - When Simone Biles opened up about her experience as a flag bearer at Olympics closing ceremony

Simone Biles once shared her experience of carrying her nation's flag at the Olympic closing ceremony in her first Olympic Games appearance in 2016. Biles made history in 2016, winning four golds and a bronze and setting multiple records.

Biles was a precocious talent, first displaying her gymnastic flair at six. She began training under Aimee Boorman at eight, making her junior elite debut at 14. Continuing her momentum, she started making waves in the senior elite in 2013, winning multiple accolades and honors.

In 2016, after her success at the US Championships, she was named to the Olympic team alongside Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, Laurie Hernandez and Madison Kocian. In the finals, the 28-year-old anchored the 'Fierce Five' to gold and amassed individual wins in the all-around, vault and floor.

Following her victorious campaign, she received the honor of being Liberty University's Convocation guest. She shared her experience of walking with the National flag twice her size during the closing ceremony, as she said (via Liberty University):

“There were over 500 (U.S.) athletes, and they take a vote, and they voted for me. When I found out, I was super excited, but I was a little nervous to carry it because it was twice my size, 10 feet tall. … I thought the wind was going to blow me over because it was so giant."

She further expressed that she felt exceptionally good during her stay at the Olympic village.

"It was an amazing honor to be in the (Olympic) village, walking out on the balcony every morning, having everyone come there for the same reason — it blew my mind; I can never get over that.”

Biles was vying for a title defense at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but a mental block put paid to her dreams, forcing her to withdraw midway through the finals.

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Simone Biles once opened up about feeling the blues once she wrapped her first Olympic stint

Biles at the Rio Olympics: Day 10 - (Source: Getty)

Simone Biles hasn't had many obstructions on the mat, mostly finishing on top in every meet she took part in. Like any other athlete, she wished to make the Olympic team, but when she did so and performed beyond her expectations, she felt bittersweet about leaving behind the time she had dreamt of all her life.

"I was feeling a little sad after my floor routine," Biles wrote in her autobiography published in 2016. "When the announcer called my name and the official placed the medal around my neck, it was bittersweet. At first, I had felt a rush of relief that everything had gone even better than I’d dared hope. I’d nailed every tumbling pass, spinning high in the air. And I’d stuck all my landings, capping off my Olympic experience with yet another gold. But I’d been waiting my entire life for a chance to go to the Olympics, and just like that, the experience was already behind me."

Simone Biles collected three more gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, extending her medal tally to seven golds, the most for an American woman.