Olympic Icon Simone Biles SHOCKS America’s Got Talent!

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Three years after her shock exit, American gymnast Simone Biles is back on the Olympic scene with gold firmly in her sights.

The 26-year-old will compete in the Artistic gymnastics women’s team final on Wednesday at 2:15am AEST and the individual events later in the week.

The four-time Olympic gold medallist made a strong start in the competition, scoring highly during the women’s artistic gymnastic qualifications.

Simone Biles from Team United States competes on the balance beam during day two of the Olympic Games. (Getty Images: Tom Weller/VOIGT)

It was a long-anticipated return after the most decorated gymnast in history withdrew from the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021, citing mental health concerns at the time.

Later, she revealed it was actually a case of “the twisties” — a serious mental health condition that can be debilitating for gymnasts.

So what are the twisties and how did Biles recover?

What are the twisties?

The twisties is a dangerous phenomenon that gymnasts experience in which they lose their perception of their body while in the air — which can result in serious injury.

It can set in when a gymnast is attempting high-level movements, making it difficult to compartmentalise the exact movement they’re attempting.

“The twisties” can set in when gymnasts perform high-level elements. (Reuters: USA TODAY Sports/Kyle Terada)

It’s a phenomenon not widely researched but spoken of and experienced by some elite gymnasts.

While many experience it in their career, it is especially gruelling and dangerous to suffer from during competition.

US gymnasts Laurie Hernandez and Aleah Finnegan have also spoken of it during their careers.

Laurie Hernandez competes for Team USA in Rio in 2016.  (Reuters: Marko Djurica)

What does it feel like to have the twisties?

Essentially, for the gymnast, it feels like their rhythm is off and they are not in control of their body’s movement.

During the Tokyo 2020 games, Biles was trying to perform a “2.5 twist” but ended up doing a “1.5 twist”.

She said she felt “lost in the air”.

“I don’t think you realise how dangerous this is on a hard/competition surface,” she said in 2021.

“It’s honestly petrifying trying to do a skill but not having your mind and body in sync.”

What causes the twisties?

Gymnastics star Simone Biles announces return to competition

Photo shows Gymnast simone biles waves to the crowd while smiling and holding flowers wearing a red team usa tracksuit

After her much-publicised case of the “twisties”, American champion Simone Biles announces she is ready to return to gymnastics.

No-one really knows.

The research into the twisties is relatively new and the condition only started to receive global recognition after Biles revealed she suffered from it.

There is research that suggests it can come on during times of psychological stress.

For Biles, it began to emerge a week before the Tokyo Games kicked off.

She also suffered from it in the lead-up to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio and again in 2019.

At the time, she described it to Olympics.com as “forgetting how to twist and flip”.

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How serious is it?

For high-performing gymnasts like Biles who can launch herself metres into the air, the risk of injury from the twisties during competition is high.

This could include broken bones, spinal injuries or a serious head knock.

How do you recover from the twisties?

Simone Biles reacts after her performance on the balance beam at Bercy Arena during the women’s qualification on Sunday.  (Reuters: Hannah Mckay )

While there is no common cure for the twisties, many gymnasts benefit from taking time off to focus on their mental health.

Biles withdrew from the all-around and a number of apparatus finals in Tokyo, raising questions about whether she would ever set foot in an Olympic arena again.

But after a two-year hiatus from competing, and with the help of her teammates and a therapist, she returned to the Olympic stage this week.

“I knew I wasn’t done after the performances in Tokyo,” Biles told Reuters.

“I just had to get back in the gym, work hard and trust the process, I knew I would be back.”

Can other athletes get the twisties?

Athletes from other sports have described experiencing similar issues.

The Associated Press said two-time Olympic gold medal trampoline star Rosie MacLennan of Canada struggled with her own version of the twisties while training for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.

She recovered in time to top the podium in Brazil, but only after painstakingly relearning her skills over time.

In other sports like golf, baseball and basketball, athletes have documented struggles with “the yips”.

The yips are described by the American academic medical group Mayo Clinic as involuntary muscle spasms that occur most commonly when golfers try to putt.

It says the yips occur due to a neurological condition affecting specific muscles, known as focal dystonia.