Simone Biles might not be able to train in the gym right now, but the four-time Olympic gold medalist gymnast is keeping herself active in other ways.
Including doing some moves that haven’t been part of any of her medal-winning routines — at least not yet.
“I’ve been doing more body work, so, abs, arms, legs,” she said from her Texas home during a live appearance on NBC’s “TODAY” show Wednesday. “The other day I did a YouTube, it was like a twerk workout, I guess. Yes, it was a twerkout! But it was a lot of squatting and conditioning, so I got my legs going, and walking my dog. We’re doing press handstands and handstand holds and stuff like that.”
Like other athletes worldwide, Biles’ big plans for 2020 have been delayed a year with the postponement of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Although she hadn’t yet qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team, there was zero doubt that Biles was going to be in Tokyo adding to her five medals won in Rio in 2016: gold in the team, all-around, vault and floor and bronze on balance beam.
Now that will have to wait, which Biles admitted was difficult news to hear.
“I was actually in the gym training at the time because we were allowed under 10 people, so our elites were training,” she said. “I went to the locker in between rotations and I got a text and I didn’t know what to feel. I just sat there and I cried, but ultimately it was the right decision. We need to make sure that everyone in the U.S. and around the world is healthy and safe and so it was hard, but it’s OK.”
