Simone Biles' twisties in Tokyo which led to the decorated gymnast bowing out of the 2020 Olympics, was a driving force in the athlete coming back stronger her mom says.

“Tokyo was a little different, but as a family, we all sit back and we talk about Tokyo, and [the] reason for everything, and Tokyo happened the way it did,” Nellie Biles tells PEOPLE. “If Tokyo didn't happen the way it did, there probably would not have been a Paris.”

So far during the 2024 Olympics which this year takes place in Paris, Biles led Team USA to a gold medal in the Women's Artistic Team All-Around and collected two individual gold medals in the Women's Vault and Individual All-Around. Today (Aug 5), she earned her fourth Olympic medal which was a silver in Women's Floor with Brazil's Rebeca Andrade earning gold and teammate Jordan Chiles earning bronze.

“It's just been an unbelievable week,” Nellie told the publication. “I know we came here with our own expectations. The expectation was, we do want her to medal, but not putting any stipulations on what medals that she will get.”

Simone Biles Gets Real About Her Feelings On Tokyo ‘Twisties'

American gymnast Simone Biles with a speech bubble that has the three dots emoji inside. There is also a logo for the Olympics.
Biles has spoken in length about how exactly she was feeling when she was on the mat back in Tokyo. The Cleaveland Clinic describes the twisties as “a mental block that creates a dangerous disconnect between mind and body while gymnasts are airborne.”

“It’s just like your body, your brain opens up, you have no idea where you are,” Biles explained to Alex Cooper on her Call Her Daddy podcast. “So, I open landed like that and as soon as I land, I kind of grin and I’m like, ‘S—,’ and I salute, and I want to run. If I could’ve gotten on a plane and flown home, I would’ve done it.”

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Biles felt immense pressure from America thinking she disappointed the country by walking away from the mat.

“I thought I was going to be banned from America,” Biles admitted. “That’s what they tell you: ‘Don’t come back if not gold. Gold or bust. Don’t come back.’”

You can watch Biles and the rest of Team USA during primetime starting at 8 pm ET on NBC.