AP Photo/Ashley Landis
- Simone Biles withdrew from 5 Tokyo medal events due to mental-health concerns and "the twisties."
- She mounted a triumphant Olympics comeback to take home bronze in the balance beam final.
- Biles' best friend and "Fighting Four" teammate, Jordan Chiles, watched from the stands and cried.
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After overcoming mental-health struggles and a case of "the twisties," Simone Biles returned to the biggest stage in sports for one last performance at the Tokyo Olympics.
The 24-year-old's third-place finish in Tuesday's balance beam final gave her arguably the most impressive medal of the seven she's collected in her Olympics career. But outside of the bronze itself, it felt as though the whole world was beaming with pride thanks to Biles' incredible display of strength and perseverance.
AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko
But perhaps no one was more overjoyed than Biles' best friend and teammate, Jordan Chiles.
The 20-year-old member of Team USA's "The Fighting Four" – who also trains alongside Biles at the World Champions Centre in Spring, Texas – was in the stands Tuesday as her sport's most decorated athlete completed her final event in Tokyo.
Biles nailed it, and she was radiant while doing so.
Chiles was moved to tears.
Later, the Vancouver, Washington, native penned a note to her BFF and posted it on Twitter.
"Proud is an understatement," she wrote. "You did that, I love ya so much I literally bawled my eyes out cause I am so happy for you!"
-Jordan Chiles (@ChilesJordan) August 3, 2021
Biles and Chiles have both returned stateside, as all of the artistic gymnastics events in Tokyo have come to an end. While Biles initially intended to end her competitive gymnastics career with these games, recent comments suggest that she's "leaving the door open" to an Olympic return at Paris 2024.
Chiles, meanwhile, is set to enroll at UCLA - where the Bruins have one of the country's best gymnastics programs - later this year.