For us Brazilians, especially those from Rio, Simone Biles will always be one of the athletes we will cherish. After all, she was the star of the 2016 Olympics, held in Rio de Janeiro, where she won individual gold medals in the all-around, vault, and floor exercise, bronze on the balance beam, and gold as part of the United States team.

At 27 years old, she is considered one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, with no less than eight Olympic medals and 30 at the World Championships, making her the most decorated American gymnast and the seventh most decorated female Olympic gymnast in history. Yes, Simone Biles is a legend.

However, her winning trajectory gained another perspective when, instead of breaking the records (which she is breaking in Paris in 2024), at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, she not only made basic mistakes but also withdrew from the competition before finishing it, even though she was the favorite for the Gold. Under a barrage of criticism, she was firm: she would put her mental health first.

The question that remained, besides what would have been the trigger and what happened behind the scenes, was whether this would mean her retirement from the sport. Of course, the spoiler is that it won’t, after all, she is in Paris growing her legend, but the Netflix documentary, The Return of Simone Biles takes us to the athlete’s home, where we follow her life with her family, her husband and her teammates and can I say? It is impossible not to fall in love with Simone.

This “intimate view of the story behind it all” is a frequent alternative for celebrities who want to control the narrative, in fact, when they want to rewrite History. Simone doesn’t go into details about her treatment, but we follow her ultra-happy life with Jonathan Owens and, even more so, her parents-grandparents, who in an emotional moment reveal the truth about Simone Biles’ past that puts all the drama in Japan into perspective.

There are four episodes narrating Simone’s preparations to reclaim her position at the top of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and the second part is being recorded now. It’s ironic and analogical to see how maintaining balance is tenuous, but she manages to shine and exceed expectations. It’s worth watching and rooting for. Even if you prefer Rebeca Andrade (sorry, Simone!)

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